BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY - St. Francis Brooklyn women's volleyball took down Merrimack in four sets Friday evening at the Genovesi Center. The Terriers (13-17, 6-7 NEC) avenged a road loss to the Warriors and head into the final game of the regular season with one more victory under their belt.
Camelia Meléndez had another strong day offensively, contributing 19 kills on .300 hitting. Middle blocker
Iva Vranic added 10 kills on just 14 swings. Selina Koc handed out 32 assists and Alasha Colon finished with 20 digs.
The Terriers dominated the first set, taking it 25-12. Starting strong right out of the gates, they scored six of the first seven points and never looked back. The Warriors cut the deficit to three, but an 8-0 run put away the frame as St. Francis Brooklyn took a 17-6 lead.
Iremnur Elmas had two kills over the span of the run and she also finished the set with another kill.
A close second set went the way of Merrimack, but the Terriers bounced back to take the third. After falling behind 4-0, they scored five straight points to take the lead. With the set tied at 11, the Terriers used a key 4-0 stretch to take the lead for good. Meléndez capped off the run with a kill. Despite the visitors cutting it to 20-18 late in the set, St. Francis Brooklyn went on to score five of the final six points to win 25-19.
Merrimack looked poised to force a fifth set after leading 13-5 early in the fourth frame before an 11-2 run gave the Terriers a 16-15 lead. The Warriors would score the next point to tie it up at 16 but a 5-1 run vaulted St. Francis Brooklyn to the win. Six points later, a kill by Vranic sealed the victory.
Elaina Vaughan finished the day with four blocks to lead the defensive effort. Arianna Ugolini had 11 digs in just two sets.
St. Francis Brooklyn will return to action Saturday against Stonehill. The team will honor its two graduating seniors prior to a 5 p.m. start.
