GRAND JUNCTION, CO. - The Saint Anselm College women's volleyball team dropped the final two non-conference matches of the Holiday Inn Crossroads Classic held on the campus of Colorado Mesa University Saturday afternoon. With losses against Colorado Mesa University and Fort Lewis College, the Hawks will fly back to Manchester, N.H. with a record of 1-5 on the season.
In the opening match against host Colorado Mesa, the Hawks lost in three sets (25-22, 25-15, 25-19). Charlotte Tencza (Greenfield, Mass.) led Saint Anselm with 11 kills on the afternoon. Natalie Steinwart (Aurora, Ill.) led all Hawks setters with 19 assists in the first match and Kyla Gustavson (Nashua, N.H.) contributed seven digs in the game. Lauren Ross (Dracut, Mass.) led all Saint Anselm players with a .375 hitting percentage, converting four-of-eight attacks against the Mavericks.
For Colorado Mesa, Antoinette McCormick posted 11 kills on the afternoon. Jordyn Moody led all setters with 39 assists and Megan Rush led all Mavericks players with eight digs off of the bench.
The nightcap against Fort Lewis College also saw the Hawks fall in three sets (25-20, 25-14, 25-23). Tencza led the Hawks with seven kills and nine digs. Shannon Douglas (Rochester, N.H.) and Gustavson tied for second on the squad with four kills in the second match of the day. Steinwart contributed 19 assists in the final match while also contributing with eight digs. Ross again led all Saint Anselm players with a .375 hitting percentage in the rubber match.
The Skyhawks of Fort Lewis College saw standout performances from Taylor Frederking and Jessica Wilson. Frederking shut down the Hawks with nine kills and a .562 hitting percentage in three sets. Wilson also contributed seven kills to silence Saint Anselm. Defensively, Hannah Starbuck recorded 10 digs and Hali Groninger set up 17 kills for the Skyhawks.
Saint Anselm opens up their Northeast-10 Conference schedule Tuesday, Sept. 13 as they will prepare to play the "Skyhawks" for the second game in a row at Stonehill College in a 7:00 p.m. tilt.