MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College volleyball team fell to the River Hawks of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell by a 3-0 score Saturday afternoon at Costello Gym. With the loss, the Hawks fall to 4-9 overall on the season and drop their third Northeast-10 Conference game on the season to fall to 0-3. The River Hawks improve to 8-4 overall with a 4-1 record in conference play.
In the first set, the Hawks fell by a 25-13 final. Natalie Steinwart (Aurora, Ill.) and Kyla Gustavson (Nashua, N.H.) led the Hawks with two kills in the opening set. Gustavson also led the Hawks defensively with four digs to her credit. For the River Hawks, three different players recorded three kill games, including Kristina Wiltjer, Lea Freeman and Anisa Smith.
The Hawks never trailed by more than three points in the second set, but ultimately fell to the River Hawks by a 25-22 final set score. Shannon Douglas (Rochester, N.H.) recorded a team-high six kills in the second set with Lauren Ross (Dracut, Mass.) ranking second in the set with three kills. Defensively, Melissa Jewett (Newton, Mass.) came off the bench to provide three digs.
Despite four kills by Gustavson in the third set, Saint Anselm dropped the set and the match by a 25-17 score. Seven out of eight Hawks players recorded at least one kill in the match, with Gustavson leading the way with four kills in the decisive set.
Cumulatively, Gustavson and Douglas led the Hawks with eight kills each. Steinwart led the Hawks with 25 assists to her credit. Defensively, Gustavson led the way with 10 digs. Morgan Du Bray (Highland Ranch, Colo.) recorded the Hawks only service ace on the afternoon. For the River Hawks, Brooke Peterson and Lea Freeman led the team with seven kills. Wiltjer assisted on 22 River Hawks kills and Hannah Rey led the team with nine digs defensively.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, Oct. 4 as they take on cross-town rival Southern New Hampshire University in a 7:00 p.m. tilt in the SNHU Fieldhouse.
