EASTON, Mass. – In need of a win to clinch a spot into the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament, the Pace University volleyball team won a thrilling five-setter (25-18, 25-21, 17-25, 23-25, 15-13) over Stonehill College on Saturday afternoon. The Setters earn their second-straight berth into the conference championships with a league mark of 8-6.
Experiencing their first five-set match of the season, the Setters showed great resilience. Pace thwarted off a Stonehill team that had won two sets in a row to force a decisive final frame. The Setters jumped out to leads of 3-0 and 9-5 in the fifth set before closing out a 15-13 win.
Sophomore
Samantha Nidini (Houston, TX/Clearlake) put together her best match of the season, contributing to the victory in a variety of ways. The Setter dished out a season-best 36 assists, while also tallying nine digs and six service aces. She also put in a pair of kills and three block assists.
On the main receiving end of Nidini's passes was the trio of
Sydney Lecker (Littleton, CO/Chatfield), Colette Clark and
Claudia Fontanet (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Academia Maria Reina). The three Setters each reached double-figures in kills, totaling 36 between them. Lecker and Fontanet also chipped in defensively, combining for 38 digs. It was Fontanet's 11
th double-double of the season, while Lecker now has seven.
Sophomores
Maria Snelling (Cleveland, OH/Gilmour Academy) and
Tatjana Calimpong-Burke (Waianae, HI/Iolani) also aided in the Pace attack, tallying nine and seven kills, respectively.
As a team, the Blue and Gold recorded season-highs in points (73), digs (89) and assists (50).
Up Next
Pace will play at top-seeded New Haven in the first round of the NE10 Tournament on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
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