MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Lauren Oxley (Bristow, Va.) recorded an errorless 10 kills and freshman Sarah Lowery (Chicago, Ill.) added 12 kills of her own as the Saint Anselm College volleyball team surged to a much-needed 26-24, 25-15, 21-25, 25-23 victory over Southern Connecticut State University Saturday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gym.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Oxley's 10 kills came on a blistering .526 hitting clip, also adding a pair of digs and three blocks on the afternoon.
• Lowery reached double-digit kills for the eighth time this season and fifth time over the last six matches.
• Sophomore Danielle Isbell (Poway, Calif.) assumed the Libero role for the first time this season, picking up a season-high 19 digs to lead the match.
• Freshman Jewel Hays (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) tallied 28 assists and six digs.
• Freshman Gianna Bowman (Phoenix, Ariz.) tallied a season-high five aces on her own accord, adding a pair of digs.
• Sophomore Katy Teets (Dix Hills, N.Y.) added a very consistent statline with eight kills, two blocks, four aces and a pair of digs and aces.
For the Owls…
• The middle-hitting tandem of Briauna Tutweiler and Faith Ford led SCSU with 10 and eight kills, respectively.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Anselm crept out to an early 10-6 lead in the opening set, before the Owls chipped away to tie it at 23-23. A Teets kill would give the Hawks its first set point, but another Teets kill followed by an Owl error would eke out the first set win for Saint Anselm, 25-23.
• A series of SCSU blunders stretched a 17-14 Hawk lead into a 23-14 advantage with Saint Anselm tallying three aces in that run to take a 2-0 lead.
• SCSU responded with a third-set victory after taking an early lead and eventually stretching it to 19-10. Saint Anselm would begin to chip away, closing to within three down the stretch, but a rotation issue would halt the Hawks' momentum as the Owls made it 2-1.
• It appeared Saint Anselm would finally put the finishing stamp on set four with an 18-13 lead midway through the set, but SCSU surged back to take a 21-20 lead. Facing a 22-21 deficit, kills by junior Brennah Gladwill (Citrus Heights, Calif.), Lowery and a Teets ace handed the Hawks match point. Finally, an Owl service went long as Saint Anselm earned a hard-fought home win in front of a raucous crowd.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
• Southern Connecticut State struggled with some aggressive Hawk serving as Saint Anselm recorded a season-high 15 service aces.
• Saint Anselm hit a solid .221 as a team Saturday, while SCSU wasn't far off with a .182 clip.
• Each side collected four team blocks.
NOTES
• Saint Anselm improves to 9-10 against the Owls all-time, avenging an early-season non-conference loss this year at the Long Island Invitational.
• The win also snaps a five-match losing streak for Saint Anselm—its longest of the season.
UP NEXT
• Saint Anselm will turnaround and host its second straight opponent from the Constitution State Sunday afternoon, welcoming University of New Haven to Stoutenburgh Gym for a 1 p.m. start. Sunday will also be the Hawks' Dig Pink event, raising awareness for breast cancer research.
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