Eagles Stumble in Thriller Against New Hampshire

Saturday, September 3

Chestnut Hill, Mass.

7:30 PM

Boston College

2-3

New Hampshire

3-3

New Hampshire

Boston College

Eagles Stumble in Thriller Against New Hampshire

September 03, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score

Comeback in 3rd set not enough to spark BC

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Boston College 2, New Hampshire 3 (21-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-14, 15-12)
Records: Boston College (2-3), New Hampshire (3-3)
Location: Power Gym, Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Attendance: 313

BC HIGHLIGHTS
- The Eagles mounted a tremendous third set rally, coming back from an 18-8 deficit to win the set 25-22. Senior Julia Topor served for two aces during the run, and junior Sol Calvete slammed home four kills.
- BC out-blocked UNH by a margin of 12 to 8, with freshman Sophia West tallying one block solo and four block assists.
- Wearing the libero jersey on the night, sophomore Devon Michaelis mustered 21 digs, the team leader for the Maroon and Gold, while sophomore McKenna Goss led the Eagles in kills with 12.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
In a set with 6 lead changes, BC jumped out to an early 5-2 lead, posting a 4-0 run along the way, but the Wildcats rallied with a 3-0 run of their own to tie the game at six. Going forward, no team established a lead of more than two points until the Eagles went up 15-12, forcing a New Hampshire timeout. With a 5-0 run, UNH went up 17-12, and BC was forced to call timeout. The Maroon and Gold fired back with a 3-0 run to retake the lead at 20-19, and closed out a 25-21 victory with a block by sophomore McKenna Goss and West.

Set 2
The Wildcats jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but the Eagles fought back to go ahead 8-7. The Eagles trailed for the remainder of the set, as New Hampshire forced a BC timeout with an 18-13 lead. UNH's 7-point victory, 25-18, was its largest lead in the game.

Set 3
Similar to the previous set, New Hampshire opened play with a 5-1 lead. The Wildcats continued to rack up points with a 7-1 run, forcing a BC timeout at 13-5. The Maroon and Gold staged a comeback to cut the deficit to 20-16 at a UNH timeout, and tied the game at 20 on an ace by Topor. BC's ultimate run of 17-4, that saw 4 kills Calvete, propelled the Eagles to a 25-22 win.

Set 4
After a momentous 3^rd set comeback by the Eagles, the teams opened with a closer 4^th set. UNH was able to pull away from the Eagles with a 17-11 lead, forcing a BC timeout. The Maroon and Gold could not muster enough defense, and dropped the set 25-14.

Set 5
BC took control early, 4-0, as two Calvete serves went for aces. The Wildcats erased a five point deficit and took a 10-9 lead with a 5-0 run of their own. Though BC tied the set at ten all, the Wildcats pulled away with three straight points for a 14-11 lead. A service error ended the match and gave the Wildcats the victory.

COACH QUOTES
Coach Chris Campbell on being a defensive unit as a team…
We got it in pieces, or in flashes. We get it for a little bit and we look good. But there are definitely sets where teams are hitting a percentage against us that's way too high. We talked about it after the match that volleyball's a fast sport. A lot of it comes down to your reactions; you have to train those. That's something that you have to do in practice, training the right habits. Just being disciplined enough to be doing the same thing again and again and again. We're getting better at it but we've got some work to do there. We need several older players to step up a little bit and be able to lean on them in certain critical situations. I think they're all capable of doing it. I think they all have that potential, but we've got to start making that habit in the week ahead.

UP NEXT
Next weekend, the Eagles will host the Boston College Tournament. BC will face Rider in the tournament's opening match on Friday evening at 7:30 and will also play matches against Fairleigh Dickinson and UMass Lowell.