MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Saint Anselm College volleyball team fell to the Penmen of Southern New Hampshire University by a 3-1 final in four sets Wednesday evening at Stoutenburgh Gym. The Hawks won the second set 25-23 but the Penmen collected 25-23, 25-22 and 25-23 victories in the remaining sets to capture the victory, breaking Saint Anselm's winning streak of three games. The Hawks fall to 4-7 on the season while the Penmen improve to 3-5 on the year in the non-conference match.
Holland McNabb (Huntington Beach, Calif.) led the Hawks with three kills in the first set while also contributing defensively with three digs. Charlotte Tencza (Greenfield, Mass.) ranked second in the first set with two kills. The Hawks rallied late in the first set following a time out, scoring four unanswered points to bring the score to 23-22 Penmen. A Hawks service error and a kill by Danielle Coffey of the Penmen silenced any Saint Anselm comeback.
Saint Anselm collected the 25-23 victory in the second match of the evening. With the score 23-20 in favor of Southern New Hampshire, the Hawks posted five straight points including two kills by Lauren Ross (Dracut, Mass.), a service ace by McNabb and a kill by Shannon Douglas (Rochester, N.H.) as the Hawks clawed their way to victory. Ross and Douglas led all Saint Anselm players with four kills in the second set with Kyla Gustavson (Nashua, N.H.) placing second on the team with three kills while recording no errors.
The Hawks dropped the third set of the evening 25-22. Douglas and Ross again matched each other with four kills apiece. Gustavson contributed three kills without an error while Margaret Tereschuk (Mission Viejo, Calif.) tallied four digs in the losing effort.
In the decisive fourth set, the Hawks at one point boasted a 23-20 lead. Three Hawks attacking errors set the table for Erica Solomon of the Penmen, whose kill assisted by Kendra Mikuta sealed the victory for Southern New Hampshire. McNabb led all Hawks players with four kills. Steinwart partnered with McNabb to record four digs apiece.
On the evening, McNabb led all Hawks players with 11 kills. Natalie Steinwart (Aurora, Ill.) led the Hawks with 35 assists while Tereschuk concluded her evening with 12 digs. For the Penmen, Megan Lescynzki posted a team-leading 15 kills while Mikuta led the team in assists with 38 helpers to her credit. Defensively, Lescynzki contributed 11 digs.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, Sept. 27 as they travel to Bentley University to face-off against the Falcons in a 7:00 p.m. Northeast-10 Conference match.
