NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Saint Anselm made it a Constitution State sweep on Sunday, reeling off the final three sets to beat Southern Connecticut State, 19-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-23, at SCSU's Pelz Gynmasium.
Freshman outside Kathryn Teets (Dix Hills, N.Y.) again led the Hawks Sunday afternoon with 17 kills, while junior outside Lauren Oxley (Bristow, Va.) and freshman middle Amanda Williams (North Andover, Mass.) each added 10.
Senior setter Natalie Steinwart (Aurora, Ill.) dished out 46 assists and senior libero Melissa Jewett (Newton, Mass.) recorded a match-high 19 digs as the Hawks picked up an important pair of match victories on the road.
With Saturday's win over New Haven and Sunday's victory over Southern Connecticut, the Hawks improve their season record to 13-11 overall and a 5-7 mark in league play. With two games remaining, Saint Anselm is closing in on its first winning season since 2000 when that year's team went 19-15 overall.
The Hawks came out of the gate a bit sluggish Sunday, hitting tallying eight hitting errors and only seven kills for a -.030 attack percentage in the first set, falling to Southern Connecticut State (7-20, 3-9 NE-10) by a six-point margin.
Saint Anselm came roaring back with a blistering .419 hitting clip with 15 kills and just two attack errors to even the match at one set apiece.
The battle of the birds went back and forth over the final two sets, as Saint Anselm and Southern Connecticut State were locked at 22 in set three. The Hawks went to their freshman middle, who tallied a pair of kills down the stretch to give Saint Anselm its first set point. The Owls sided out the next point, but missed long on the next to hand Saint Anselm a 25-23 set win and a 2-1 lead.
It looked like the Owls had awakened in the fourth set, surging out to a 14-10 lead. But Saint Anselm came storming back to score 6 of the next nine points to go up 20-17. Facing a 22-21 deficit, a pair of Teets kills swung back the momentum back in the Hawks' favor. Mirroring last night's win at New Haven, Saint Anselm took care of match point with a huge block from Teets and sophomore middle Micaela Donatio (North Andover, Mass.) to post the perfect weekend.
The Hawks outblocked SCSU, 10 to 7.5, with Donatio tallying a match-high five blocks and Williams adding four, including one solo stuff.
Saint Anselm will complete its regular season next weekend with a pair of home games. Friday, the Hawks will host Assumption in a 7:30 p.m. matchup at Stoutenburgh Gym before welcoming Pace for a noontime matinee Saturday afternoon. Saturday's game against the Setters will also be Senior Day, as six seniors will be honored prior to the match.
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