NORTH EASTON, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College volleyball team fell by a 3-1 score to Stonehill College in the Quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Tuesday, Nov. 16.

With the loss, the Hawks fall to 19-8 on the season and will wait to see if their season will continue. Saint Anselm was ranked 10th in the East Region, according to the last set of official rankings released by the NCAA. The top team in the East Region, Stonehill improves to 21-8 and will face the University of New Haven in the NE10 Semifinals on Friday, Nov. 19.

Junior Lauren Casey (Jefferson City, Mo.) led Saint Anselm with 15 kills while freshman Gabby Belcher (Buckeye, Ariz.) added 14. Junior Michelle Henwood (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) threw up 45 assists and aided the Hawks defense with 10 digs. Junior Caroline Belmontez (San Diego, Calif.) recorded a team-high 14 digs while Casey capped off a double-double with 13 digs.

A tightly contested match saw the Skyhawks capture a 27-25 opening set before the Hawks grabbed set two by a 26-24 score. Stonehill managed to close out set three at 26-24 and won the match in the fourth set, 25-23.

An attack error by the Skyhawks and a kill by Casey forced a timeout from Stonehill at 17-15. After a Casey kill coming out of the timeout, the Skyhawks notched five of the next six points to take a 20-19 lead. The teams traded points as Stonehill reached set point at 24-22 but a pair of Skyhawks errors sandwiched a service ace from Henwood and forced the final Stonehill timeout with the Hawks leading, 25-24. The Skyhawks closed the opening set with three consecutive points, capitalizing on a pair of Hawks errors and a kill by Shannon Burgess.

Saint Anselm grabbed an early lead to open the second set at 6-1. Throughout the set, the Skyhawks closed the deficit and eventually tied the match at 19. The Hawks scored three of the next four points before Stonehill answered with a four-point run, giving the hosts a 24-22 lead. A kill by Casey and a Skyhawks error tied the match at 24 before Belcher and service ace by Casey capped off a four-point run and gave the Hawks a 26-24 set two win.

Stonehill jumped out to a 14-10 lead near the midway point of the third set. The Hawks battled back once again and managed to take a 20-19 lead on a kill from sophomore Kaitlin Brown (Glendale, Ariz.). Scoring the next four points and regaining control of the set was the Skyhawks, who held a 24-22 lead for the third consecutive set. Kills by Casey and Belcher forced a tie at 24 but a block by Lauren McClosky and Basia Perragine and a service ace by Carly Russell gave the third frame to the Skyhawks by a 26-24 score, putting them up 2-1 in the match.

The Hawks used a hot start to open a 9-3 lead, marking the largest lead the match had seen at that point. The Skyhawks battled their way back into the set and took a 15-14 lead before the teams traded three point runs which forced a timeout from Saint Anselm with the score 18-17 for the hosts. However, the teams would go one-for-one down the stretch as the Skyhawks took the fourth set by a 25-23 score and the match, 3-1, eliminating the Hawks from NE10 Championship contention.