CLINTON, NY -- Hartwick had four match points in the fourth set but host Hamilton College fought off each of them and recovered for a five-set comeback win at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House tonight. The match was a battle throughout as all five sets were decided by just two points. Final scores were 27-25, 23-25, 23-25, 28-26, 16-14. Hamilton (13-12 overall) has now won four of its last five matches. Hartwick (6-25) dropped its fifth straight match.
Courtney Desmond (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Hendrick Hudson) topped the Hawks with 18 kills and six blocks. Lauren Mausert (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) hammered 14 kills and had just one attack error in 47 attempts for a .277 attack percentage. Mausert added 16 digs and three aces. Shannon McGee (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) passed out 43 assists, Kori Eckert (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) served three aces and Christina Vitale (Port Jefferson Station, NY/St. John the Baptist) recorded a career-high 31 digs.
Megan McCareins posted season highs with 20 kills and 31 digs for the Continentals. Brenna Corrigan chipped in a season-best 15 kills and 25 digs. Cecelie Pikus was credited with a career-high 47 assists, and Rachel Irizarry posted 12 digs and four aces. Meredith Nuber and Ally Martella led the defense at the net with six and five blocks, respectively.
Hartwick led 7-5 in the fifth and deciding set, but Hamilton scored the next five points to grab a 10-7 advantage. The Continentals had double-match point at 14-12, only to have the Hawks fight off both and tie the score at 14-14. Hamilton scored the next point, and McCareins' attack attempt was blocked out of bounds to end the match on the next point.
Hamilton jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first set, but Hartwick came all the way back to tie the score at 18-18. The match was still tied at 25-25 when a ball-handling error was called on the Hawks, and then Pikus pushed the ball over the net for a kill on set point.
The score was tied at 23-23 in the second set, but a service error by Pikus and an attack error by Corrigan gave Hartwick its first set. The Continentals held an 18-15 lead in the third set, but the Hawks scored seven of the next eight points for a 22-19 advantage. A service error by Irizarry on set point clinched a 2-1 lead for 'Wick.
Hamilton led 15-8 in the fourth set, and clung to a 22-20 advantage when the Continentals called a timeout. The Hawks went on to score four more points in a row for a 24-22 lead, and victory seemed to be within their grasp. Hamilton rebounded with the next two points to tie it at 24-24. Hartwick had two more match points at 25-24 and 26-25, but the Continentals scored the next three to send the match to a fifth set. Martella had a solo block on set point.
The Hawks travel to city rival SUNY Oneonta on Friday. Hamilton hosts Middlebury College for a NESCAC match on Friday as well.
