MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College volleyball team opened the season with a pair of 3-0 wins over Felician University and Bloomsburg University on Saturday at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks move to 2-0 on the season while the Huskies sit at 1-1 and the Golden Falcons at 0-2. All three teams will be back in action tomorrow, Sunday, Sept. 5. Saint Anselm hosts Le Moyne College and Post University while Bloomsburg and Felician head to cross-town rival Southern New Hampshire to close out the opening weekend.
Sophomore Audrey Simmons (North Hampton, N.H.) led the Hawks offense with 24 kills, 11 in match one and 13 in match two, on 40 swings for a .450 hitting percentage on the day. Classmate Audrey Wetjen (Henderson, Nev.) added 18 kills on 27 attempts for a day-high hitting percentage of .518. Junior Michelle Henwood (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) earned a total of 60 assists while classmate and co-captain Caroline Belmontez (San Diego, Calif.) earned 16 digs on the day.
The Hawks and Golden Falcons traded points as the first set opened but the Hawks started to pull away with a four-point run. Junior Lauren Casey (Jefferson City, Mo.) posted back-to-back kills and a service ace. Wetjen posted a kill in between the Casey scoring. Catherine Lentsch ended the run with a kill of her own but the Hawks would go on to post 14 straight points, closing the opening set, 25-7.
Saint Anselm used another pair of runs to gap the Golden Falcons as they tallied nine of 10 points midway through the second set. Casey, Wetjen, and Simmons earned five of the nine points which pushed the Hawks out to a 13-5 lead. The teams traded points throughout the remainder of the set as the Hawks took a 2-0 advantage with a 25-19 set score.
A back-and-forth opener to set three, saw the visitors hold a 12-10 advantage. However, a service error, pair of kills by Simmons, and a kill by sophomore Kaitlin Brown (Glendale, Ariz.) gave the Hawks the lead, which they would hold onto for the rest of the set. A late four-point run nearly sealed the contest as an attack error closed out the match with a 25-18 score.
Simmons and junior Lois Dogbe (Winchester, Calif.) led the offense with 11 and 10 kills each. Henwood earned 28 assists while Belmontez posted eight digs.
In the Hawks' second match of the day, the first set saw the teams trade points early and saw the hosts hold a 15-13 lead, following a Saint Anselm service error. The trend was broken as the Hawks tallied eight of the next nine points to open a 23-14 advantage. Wetjen earned three kills during the stretch. Saint Anselm closed out the set just three points later and held a 1-0 set lead.
The Hawks darted out to a 4-0 lead on a Henwood service ace and three attack errors to open the second frame. The Huskies rebounded and closed the gap to one at 15-14, midway through the set. The Hawks reestablished their multi-point lead but that was quickly negated by a three-point run from Bloomsburg. The Huskies earned their first lead of the contest at 24-23 and held a 25-24 advantage but three straight points on kills by Wetjen and Simmons gave the Hawks a 26-25 lead. Belmontez closed out the set with a service ace, giving the Hawks a 2-0 edge after the 27-25 second set.
Another close set closed out the match as the Huskies led the set 14-13. Two errors, a Belmontez service ace, and kills by Wetjen and Casey pushed the set in the Hawks favor to 18-15. More swapping of points closed out the set and match as the Hawks earned a 25-23 set and a 3-0 match.
Simmons, Wetjen, and Casey led the Hawks offense with 13, 11, and eight kills. Henwood posted 32 assists. Belmontez and Casey added eight digs on the defensive side of the ball.
Freshmen Gabby Belcher (Buckeye, Ariz.), Kennedy Scheppler (Lubbock, Texas), and Reese LeMay (Candia, N.H.) made their collegiate debuts in the tri-match victories.
