Megan McCareins '14 posted season highs with 20 kills and 31 digs to lead Hamilton College to a five-set win against Hartwick College in a non-conference match at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Oct. 26.
McCareins added three of Hamilton's nine service aces. The Continentals lead the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) with 2.73 per set.
Hamilton (13-12 overall) has won four of its last five matches. Hartwick (6-25) dropped its fifth straight match. The Continentals were down 2-1 in sets, but rallied to win the last two for the victory (27-25, 23-25, 23-25, 28-26, 16-14).
Brenna Corrigan '14 posted a season-best 15 kills and 25 digs, and added two blocks. Ally Martella '13 pounded eight kills and had five blocks. Cecelie Pikus '13 handed out a career-high 47 assists, and added seven digs and two aces. Rachel Irizarry '12 registered 12 digs and a team-high four aces. Meredith Nuber '14 had nine kills and a team-high six blocks.
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.
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. It 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 and an attack error by the Continentals 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, and went on to take 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set was the wildest of them all. Hamilton led 15-8, and clung to a 22-20 advantage when the Continentals called a timeout. The Hawks then scored four points in a row for a 24-22 lead. 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.
Hamilton hosts Middlebury College for a NESCAC match on Friday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m.
