Yesterday afternoon, the volleyball team continued its assault on League VIII in a 3-0 sweep vs. Mercy. With Mercy’s gymnasium renovations taking longer than anticipated, the Bears were gifted a second home match-up with the Monarchs. The hosts proved to be just as rude as they were on Sept. 11, also a 3-0 sweep for the Brook.
The two squads battled to a 4-4 tie early in set one before the Bears unleashed a 12-1 run, punctuated by consecutive blocks. A beautiful kill from Bri Kilkenny ended a five-point run for Mercy and gave the Bears a 17-9 lead before a Lois Ezi dunk pushed the advantage to 20-10. They took the opening set 25-16 after Mercy found the net on their final serve.
In set two, the Bears raced out to a commanding 8-1 lead, capped by a monster block by Ezi that landed in the back right corner. Mercy never got within more than four points the rest of the way while the Bears extended their lead to as much as nine before a Hannah Detwiler block closed the frame, 25-16.
Set three was the most competitive of the match as the Bears and Monarchs battled to ties at 1-1, 3-3, 4-4, 7-7, 8-8, 10-10, 11-11, 14-14, 16-16, 17-17, 19-19, 20-20, and 22-22. The Bears fell behind early 1-2, but did not trail again until 19-20. They battled back with three straight points to go up 22-20, but Mercy refused to go away, knotting the game at 22-22. With their sweep streak on the line, Detwiler took over by reeling off three straight points to close the match. She started with a kill, then took over service and ended the match with two serves that the Monarchs failed to return, capping the match with a 25-22 win.
Ezi finished with 6 kills and 2 blocks while Petersen recorded 3 kills and 3 blocks. With the win the Bears improve to 6-0 in League VIII with all six wins coming by way of the sweep. It is the best start in program history. The Bears are back in action on Tuesday in a match-up at Greenport/Southold.
League VIII Standings
| 1. | Stony Brook | 6-0 |
| 2. | Pierson/Bridgehampton | 5-1 |
| 3. | Port Jeff | 3-3 |
| 4. | Mercy | 2-4 |
| 4. | Shelter Island | 2-4 |
| 6. | Greenport/Southold | 0-6 |
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