MANCHESTER, N.H. – Freshman Sarah Lowery (Chicago, Ill.) recorded a career-high 19 kills and sophomore Katy Teets (Dix Hills, N.Y.) added a season-best 19 of her own but the Saint Anselm College volleyball team dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Northeast-10 Conference foe American International College Saturday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gym, 25-14, 24-26, 19-25, 28-26, 15-11.

• Lowery's 19-kill effort was her best of the season, while also adding 11 digs and a block for her second career double-double and first since the season opener against Southern Connecticut State.
• Teets also recorded a season-high while adding 14 digs—her first season double-double. She also served up two aces and two blocks for a season-high 22-point night.
• Freshman Jewel Hays (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) dished out 53 assists on the afternoon, recording a career-high that also ranks fifth on the all-time assists record book for a five-set match. Hays also added 12 digs and an ace Saturday.
• Junior Brennah Gladwill (Citrus Heights, Calif.) chipped in 12 kills, her sixth double-digit kill match of the season.
• CC Chrisom (Dover, N.H.) posted her seventh straight match with double-digit digs, leading the Hawks with 16 Saturday.
• AIC was led by Diva Rivas and Natalija Dordevic's 16 and 12 kills, respectively. Libero Mercy Rivera saved a match-high 33 digs for the YellowJackets.

• Saint Anselm opened the first set with a very rough start, giving up six straight points as the Hawks struggled with their serve receive early. They would eventually close to within 10-9 off a handful of kills from Lowery and sophomore Amanda Williams (North Andover, Mass.), but the YellowJackets outscored Saint Anselm 15-5 down the stretch to breeze through the opening frame.
• The Hawks awoke in the second set, yet needed a late-set comeback capped off by a Gladwill kill to lock the match at 1 set apiece. Saint Anselm then carried the momentum through the third set, taking control with a 2-1 lead.
• Set four was an absolute battle as neither team held more than a three-point lead. A Saint Anselm service error handed the 'Jackets their first set point, but two straight errors tied the frame at 24-24. Lowery kills flanked by two hitting errors again tied the set at 26-26 before two straight AIC kills sent the match to a fifth frame.
• Saint Anselm jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fifth and deciding set with a Hays ace and a Teets kill, but AIC came roaring back with five-point run of its own to take its first lead. The teams then traded points until a Teets kill tied the set at 10-10. Two straight YellowJacket blocks, followed by two kills from Rivas handed AIC its first match point. Teets staved off the first opportunity with a kill, but finally a Dordevic kill from the right side stole away an important road win for AIC.

• Hitting percentages were similarly humble for both teams with Saint Anselm attacking at a .134 clip to the 'Jackets' .120 overall. In the second set alone, the teams combined for 22 kills and 21 errors for a .011 hitting efficiency.
• Defensively, AIC won the blocking battle, 11-10, and also outdug Saint Anselm, 86-73.
• AIC recorded seven service aces to the Hawks' four.

NOTES

• Saturday's result was the first loss for Saint Anselm in Northeast-10 Conference play, after the Hawks started out 2-0 for the first time in program history. Conversely, AIC picked up its first NE-10 win of the season Saturday.
• AIC improves to 25-6 all-time against the Hawks, avenging last season's 3-1 defeat in Springfield.
• Saturday's match was just the second at Stoutenburgh Gym this season, as the Hawks will play 12 of its first 14 matchups this year on the road.

• Saint Anselm will take back to the road for two matches next week, first traveling across the city of Manchester to Southern New Hampshire University Tuesday for a Northeast-10 and Queen City Cup tilt at 7 p.m., then meander down to Merrimack College for a non-conference showdown with the Warriors on Thursday evening. The Hawks' next home game will be the following Tuesday, Oct. 13, when they host Bentley University back in NE-10 action.