MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Saint Anselm College volleyball team opened its season with a tri-match against Merrimack College and Mercy College Saturday morning.  The Warriors of Merrimack College brought the Hawks to five sets before closing the door 15-13 in the final set, winning 3-2 overall.  The Mavericks of Mercy College also brought Saint Anselm to five sets, but the Hawks won the deciding set 15-11 for the 3-2 overall victory.

Merrimack collected victories in the first two sets (25-19, 25-17) of the first tri-match, but the Hawks rallied 25-19 and 25-16 in the next two sets.  Saint Anselm could not close the overall deficit as Merrimack won the deciding set 15-13.

Kyla Gustavson (Nashua, N.H.) led the Hawks with 11 kills against Merrimack, with Holland McNabb (Huntington Beach, Calif.) close behind with eight kills.  Natalie Steinwart (Aurora, Ill.) contributed defensively, recording 12 digs.  Margaret Tereschuk (Mission Viejo, Calif.) posted eight digs against the Warriors.  Steinwart also posted a team-high 34 assists in the opening match against Merrimack.

For the Warriors, Stephanie Sheehan recorded 19 kills and Brianna Trabucco posted 26 assists alongside 12 digs as Merrimack combined for eight kills in the final set to ultimately down the Hawks.

The second game of the afternoon saw the Hawks' fortunes take a turn for the better.  In the first set, the Hawks never forfeited the lead, winning 26-24 out of the gate.  Mercy, however, collected the victory in the next two sets (25-23, 25-18). 

The fourth set of the final game saw late kills by both Tencza and Steinwart alongside two attacking errors by Mercy, granting the Hawks four straight points and the victory.  The fifth set saw two straight service aces by Tencza, which doubled up the Mavericks 8-4.  Two late kills by Morgan Du Bray (Highland Ranch, Colo.) and Tencza brought the score to 14-11 and a Steinwart block on a Nicolette Gebhardt attack sealed the victory for the Hawks.

Tencza led all Hawks in both kills and digs with 19 and 12 in the second match, respectively.   Steinwart provided 40 assists in the game as well.  Melissa Ouellet (Salem, N.H.) led all Hawks players with a .421 kill percentage against the Mavericks.

The Hawks fly to Gunnison, Colo. this weekend as they will face off against Western State, Adams State, Colorado Mesa and Fort Lewis in two separate tri-matches.  The first tri-match begins on Friday, Sep. 9 at 2:00 p.m. against Western State. The second tri-match beins Saturday at 3:15 p.m. at Colorado Mesa.