Stony Brook Seawolves Close Out UNCW Five-Set Thriller

Stony Brook volleyball defeated the University of North Carolina Wilmington Seawolves in five sets on Sunday afternoon.

The Seawolves opened the contest with a strong offensive surge, building an 8-1 lead. Stony Brook rallied to tie the score at 13-13 before taking control of the frame. Carey-Jean Block served an ace to seal the first set for the visitors. In the second frame, the teams traded points until the Seawolves entered a media timeout trailing 15-14. Ella Sanders contributed three points from that timeout to give her team a 19-17 advantage. Mopelola Ojo added a kill and a block to finish the set.

The third set saw Stony Brook fall into an early 12-3 hole. Although the Seawolves mounted a brief comeback with runs of four points each, UNCW maintained its lead to take the frame. The fourth set mirrored the third, with the Seawolves starting 7-2 down. Attack errors by UNCW and five combined kills from Avari Amstutz and Pierre Louis brought the score to 22-22. UNCW held on to win the set and force a fifth.

The deciding set began with two consecutive aces from Zayda Fuertez. Damisi Osibodu followed with two blocks, helping the Seawolves build a 5-1 lead. UNCW cut the deficit to one point at 7-6. Osibodu and Sanders extended the margin to four points, but the Seawolves tied the score at 14-14. Motton scored her tenth kill of the match to put Stony Brook ahead 15-14. A serving error by UNCW ended the game.

Ella Sanders led Stony Brook with 15 kills, 19 digs, and four aces. It was her second consecutive double-double. Mercedes Motton added 10 kills. Fuertez recorded 14 digs. Ojo and Osibodu each posted eight blocks. Block also contributed to the offensive effort.

The Seawolves will play their final regular season road trip next week in Buies Creek, North Carolina. They face Campbell in two matches. The first game starts at 6 p.m. on Nov. 6. The second game starts at 2 p.m. on Nov. 7. Both contests will be available on FloCollege.