Allentown, PA - Hunter College women's volleyball dropped two matches this weekend, falling to Muhlenberg College before getting a loss to Alvernia University. The two losses give Hunter a 4-4 overall record, while they remain undefeated in conference play.
The Hawks fell to Muhlenberg on Saturday in the first of a multi-match day, featuring four sets with scores of 25-16, 25-19, 25-23 and 25-6.
The Mules immediately gave Hunter trouble, jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the first set and then scoring three-straight points to lead the set, 8-1. The Hawks would go on a 4-0 run of their own to cut Muhlenberg's lead to just three points and make the score 10-7.
The Mules continued to find points and closed the set out with a 5-1 run to take the first, 25-16.
Hunter got the upper hand in the second set, leading the Mules 4-1 by capitalizing on several Muhlenberg errors, but the Mules would quickly tie the set up with a score of 4-4. A 5-0 run from Hunter gave them a comfortable lead and they were able to close the second set out with a win, 25-19 to tie the match, 1-1.
The third set ended closely as Hunter was able to catch up after being down by as much as eight points, but the Mules got the win with a score of 25-23. Muhlenberg dominated the fourth set, only letting the Hawks score six times to take the match 3-1.
Samantha Barrett led the team in loss, recording six kills and no errors for a .600 hitting percentage.
Miranda Hogan tallied 13 assists, while
Haley Trunkett notched a match-high 16 digs.
Hunter took on Alvernia University later in the day, falling in three sets with scores of 25-19, 25-20 and 25-20. Despite the close sets, the Hawks could not pull out a win, losing their second match of the day.
Taylor Kerr-Haiduk led the team with 15 kills, while
Julia Connolly followed with 12. Hogan 12 assists and Trunkett tallied 16 digs for the second time that day.
"Considering the circumstances of missing two key players this weekend, the tri-match against Alvernia and Mulenberg gave us the opportunity to challenge the team to work through adjustments on our regular lineup, said head coach Val Lang. "We competed well but made wrong choices at crucial times. Working with a small squad requires efficiency and a lot of stamina to last against big non-conference competitors. Haley played a tremendous match, passing and serving really well, while Sam is dominating the net against big blockers and connecting really well with our rookie Miranda. We are back this Monday to focus of strength and conditioning along with reinforcing the basis on defense, especially blocking."
The Hawks return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 23 when they host Vassar College at 6 p.m.
