MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Katy Teets (Dix Hills, N.Y.), senior Lauren Oxley (Bristow, Va.) and freshman Sarah Lowery (Chicago, Ill.) all registered double-digit kills, but the Saint Anselm College volleyball team couldn't find the knockout punch against Northeast-10 Conference rival University of New Haven Sunday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gym, falling in another five-set thriller 20-25, 16-25, 25-20, 25-9, 15-2.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Teets recorded team-highs with 12 kills and four service aces to accompany four digs and a solo block on the afternoon.
• Oxley posted her second-straight 10-kill performance as well, adding a dig and two blocks.
• Lowery chipped in 10 kills, finishing just one dig shy of a double-double.
• Freshman Amanda Williams (North Andover, Mass.) added nine kills on a team-best .353 hitting percentage.
• Freshman Jewel Hays (Aliso Niguel, Calif.) dished out a match-high 39 assists to go with seven digs.
• Sophomore Danielle Isbell (Poway, Calif.) snagged 14 digs, her second straight double-digit dig streak and second match wearing the Libero jersey.
For the Chargers…
• Meghan Kennelly and Kristen Lee anchored the outside for New Haven, combining for 26 of the team's 48 kills on .303 hitting.
• Brianna Mirmina picked up a match-high 15 digs while Micki Impellizeri and Alex Bussey roofed six and five Hawk attacks, respectively.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Anselm jumped out to a 4-0 lead that it would never relinquish, despite a mid-set push by the Chargers. Clinging to a 10-9 lead, the Hawks reeled off an 8-2 run and a pairo f Lowery kills sealed up the opening set win, 25-20.
• The Hawks again held a slim lead in the second set at 12-11, before a pair of Oxley kills, another by junior Brennah Gladwill (Cirtus Heights, Calif.), a trio of Charger attack errors and a Teets ace spurred the Hawks on a 7-0 run and silenced New Haven to a two-set deficit.
• The third set has been a bugaboo for the Hawks for much of this season and New Haven took advantage of some heightened offensive efficiency, turning a 10-9 deficit into a 17-12 lead. Saint Anselm would trade points down the stretch, but New Haven took the third, 25-20.
• With momentum in hand, New Haven took complete control in the fourth set, sending the Hawks spiraling out of system while jumping out to an 11-2 lead. The Chargers ripped 12 kills in the set on a .440 hitting clip, sending the Hawks scrambling and locking the match at two sets apiece.
• Entering the fifth set, the Chargers would not be stopped as they ran out to an insurmountable 9-0 lead. Saint Anselm's lone two points came off a Gladwill kill and a New Haven service error.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
• Saint Anselm hit a blistering .407 in the first set alone and a strong .283 through the first two sets combined.
• Both teams tallied 48 team kills and 45 team assists.
• New Haven outblocked the Hawks 12-4 and edged Saint Anselm in digs, 52-47.
NOTES
• Five of Saint Anselm's eight NE-10 Conference matches this season have been played to five sets, with the Hawks owning a 1-4 record in those situations.
• The Hawks' 9-point fourth set was the fewest in a full set this season.
• New Haven avenges last year's 3-1 upset victory by Saint Anselm—the first Hawk win in the series all-time. The Chargers improve to 11-1 with Sunday's win.
• Sunday was also the Hawks' annual "Dig Pink" match for breast cancer awareness.
UP NEXT
• Saint Anselm will have a bit of work to do entering its final sextet of league matchups, should it hope to earn a league tournament berth. The Hawks will head to Franklin Pierce University Tuesday evening in a 7 p.m. start, then travel to Assumption College on Saturday for a noontime Halloween battle against the Greyhounds.
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