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Recap | Box Score
Newbury Falls To Pine Manor, 3-2
CHESTNUT HILL, MA – Pine Manor stormed back from a 2-1 deficit to upset previously undefeated Newbury, 3-2, in Gators head coach Mike Murphy’s first match as a head coach at the Division III level.
“It was a huge step for the team,” said Murphy. “I feel great.”
Pine Manor (1-0) junior Jen Gross (Coral Springs, FL/Coral Glades) led all players with three blocks and 12 kills, hitting .273, while freshman Megan Patch (Bethpage, TN/Red Boiling Springs) posted a match-high 35 set assists in her first collegiate action. Alie Johnston (Winnipeg, MB/River East) chipped in with 11 kills and 10 digs, lifting the Gators down the stretch.
“They’re fantastic players,” Murphy, a Waltham native, said of Gross and Johnston. “Megan [Patch] as well. To walk in as a freshman and basically be the quarterback of the team, which is what the setter is, that’s a lot of weight on her shoulders. She was able to get the ball to the more experienced players.”
Newbury (2-1) narrowly escaped the opening set with a 25-23 victory after a late Gators comeback fell short. A Johnston ace tied the set at 18-18, and a Gross kill retied it at 23-23, forcing first-year Newbury head coach Chris Taylor to use his first timeout. A Pine Manor kill error followed, and the Nighthawks captured game point following a Talia Martinez (Malibu, CA/Malibu) serve.
“The first set we had the expected struggles as a new team,” Murphy said, “but we had some good play despite that.”
After falling short in Game 1, the Gators took control early in the following set, sprinting out to a 7-1 lead following five straight points on Johnston serves.
“We really turned it on in the second set,” said Murphy.
Newbury battled back to force a Murphy timeout with his team leading 9-8, and the Gators responded with a 5-0 run with Patch serving. A Johnston kill forced Taylor’s second timeout trailing 19-12, and a Gross block iced a 25-16 victory.
Taylor’s nighthawks returned the favor in a 25-16 Game 3 win. A 9-8 Newbury lead ballooned to 17-9 after an 8-1 run on serves from Regina Sibilia (Agawam, MA/Agawam) and Tricia Corriveau (Coventry, RI/Coventry), respectively. Murphy’s second timeout of the set, this at 22-12, did little to halt the Nighthawks momentum as Newbury cruised to a 2-1 match lead.
The rest of the night belonged to Johnston and the Gators. While the second and third matches mimicked each other with reciprocal scores, Game 4 resembled the nip-and-tuck match opener, except it was the home team that came out on top thanks in large part to the Gators sophomore middle hitter.
Following freshman Imara Jackson’s (Boston, MA/Mystic Valley) service ace, Johnston’s block put the Gators in front 7-4. Back-to-back aces from Patch, who tied for match-high honors with four, gave Pine Manor a 12-9 lead, but Newbury fought back to force ties at every point between 16 and 20.
Monster spikes from Johnston regained the lead at 21-20 and provided insurance at 23-21, and the Gators never looked back, winning 25-22.
In a deciding set that opened with teams trading service aces, neither team led by more than a point until a late Pine Manor run that ultimately decided the match. Trailing 11-10, the Gators scored four straight points on Johnston serves. A Jackson spike tied the set at 11-11 and Ashley Carusone’s (Nashua, NH/North) kill ended it, 15-12.
In her first game as a collegian, Carusone led all players with 19 digs.
For Newbury, which entered 2-0 after topping Anna Maria and Albertus Magnus 3-1 each, Martinez tallied 13 digs and Sibilia dished out 27 assists. Corriveau tied Patch and Johnston for match-high honors with four service aces.
The Nighthawks return to the court Tuesday September 14th when they travel to Newton to face the Lasell College Lasers (1-3) at 7:00pm.
Game Story By: Ryan McCarthy, Pine Manor College SID
