WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Freshman Kathryn Teets (Dix Hills, N.Y.) and junior Lauren Oxley (Bristow, Va.) combined for 39 kills as the Saint Anselm volleyball team shocked league-leading and preseason Northeast-10 favorite New Haven for the first time in school history at Charger Gym with a 28-26, 21-25, 25-22, 25-23 victory Saturday afternoon.

Teets and Oxley, both outside hitters, each posted a career night with Teets tallying 23 kills and Oxley adding 16 in the four-set match. The Hawks also got a career-high 51 assists from senior setter Natalie Steinwart (Aurora, Ill.) and senior libero Melissa Jewett (Newton, Mass.) added a match-high 26 digs for a total team effort in Saturday's win.

Heavy underdogs entering Saturday's matchup, the Hawks chased New Haven (19-6, 10-2 NE-10) for much of the first set. Facing a 24-22 set point, Saint Anselm reeled off three straight points on kills from Oxley and Teets and a tandem block from Steinwart and freshman middle Amanda Williams (North Andover, Mass.). The Chargers sided out, but another Teets kill and a Steinwart service ace would clinch the all-important first-set victory.

The Hawks couldn't keep the momentum into the second set however, as New Haven jumped out to a modest lead and held on for the four-point set win to lock the match at one set apiece.

Saint Anselm responded with an early 11-8 lead with kills from Teets, sophomore right side Brennah Gladwill (Citrus Heights, Calif.) and a handful of Charger hitting errors. Yet New Haven would surge back with an 8-3 run, eventually running to a 21-17 lead late in the third. Kills by Oxley and Williams and a UNH hitting error pulled the Hawks to 21-20 before the hosts sided out. Promptly, the Hawks ran off the final five points of the set with some late-game heroics again from Teets as well as a big kill from sophomore middle Micaela Donatio (North Andover, Mass.) and a Steinwart-Donatio block put an exclamation mark on the third, 25-22.

For the first time in the match, it was Saint Anselm who had a bit of a cushion late in the fourth set, jumping out to a 15-10 lead. New Haven chipped away at it though, using timely kills to pull to within one point several times, eventually tying the set at 23. In the race to two points, a mishandled ball from the New Haven setter and an appropriate match-clinching kill from Teets handed Saint Anselm its biggest win in recent program history.

With the win, Saint Anselm kept its NE-10 Conference Championship hopes alive and improves to 12-11 overall and 4-7 in league play. The Hawks will return to action tomorrow for an afternoon tilt at Southern Connecticut State. Game time is slated for noon at SCSU's Pelz Gymnasium.

Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.