MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College volleyball team secured two 3-0 victories in Sunday's tri-match at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.
The Hawks used a well-balanced attack to improve to 4-0 on the young season. That marks the best start for the program since the 2016 season.
Saint Anselm has a hitting percentage of .358 through the first four matches of the season. The Hawks have collected 156 kills and as accrued 16.0 blocks. The team is averaging 3.5 aces per set with a total of 42 through the opening weekend. They have earned 140 assists and 165 digs.
The Dolphins fall to 1-2 before making their final appearance of the weekend against Felician at Southern New Hampshire. Post drops to 1-3 with a pair of losses in Sunday's action.
Sophomore Audrey Simmons (North Hampton, N.H.) and freshman Gabby Belcher (Buckeye, Ariz.) led the Hawks offense on the day with 15 kills each. Simmons posted a .438 hitting percentage on the day. Junior Michelle Henwood (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) added 54 assists and is now averaging 9.50 per set and is over 100 helpers for the season. Classmate Caroline Belmontez (San Diego, Calif.) totaled 26 digs between both contests. As a team, the Hawks added 21 service aces to help aid the offensive attack.
In the opening match of the day, the Hawks were led by Simmons with 11 kills. Classmate Alina Barbarena (Los Angeles, Calif.) posted four service aces. Henwood was all over the floor, leading the contest with 28 assists and five blocks. Belmontez and Henwood registered 15 and 14 digs each.
Saint Anselm and Le Moyne battled early as neither team gained a clear advantage until four consecutive points by the Hawks. Sophomores Audrey Wetjen (Henderson, Nev.) and Kaitlin Brown (Glendale, Ariz.) posted points by kill and service ace which extended the Hawks lead to 17-11. More swapping of points led to another four-point run which closed out the opening set, 25-16, in favor of the hosts. Simmons, Barbarena, and junior Lauren Casey (Jefferson City, Mo.) recorded points in the closing stretch.
A pair of Dolphins kills opened the second set but that was quickly answered with two kills from junior Lois Dogbe (Winchester, Calif.) and Belcher which tied the contest at four. The Hawks registered the next seven points, capitalizing on Le Moyne miscues. Wetjen got the run started with the remaining six points coming by way of errors. With the score now 11-4, Saint Anselm continued to press and built up a nine-point lead with three consecutive points later in the stanza. A pair of Belcher kills sandwiched a Dogbe service ace which gave the Hawks a 20-11 lead and propelled them to close out the match, 25-14, taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Dolphins jumped out to an early 6-4 lead in set three but Saint Anselm recorded 11 of the next 12 points to take a 15-7 lead. The teams traded points on service errors before 10 straight points by the Hawks closed out the set, 25-8, and the match, 3-0. Belmontez registered three service aces in the closing stretch.
The second Hawks match saw Belcher pace the attack with 10 kills. Belmontez, junior Colleen Chen (Superior, Colo.), and freshman Jada Burdier (Haverhill, Mass.) hammered home two service aces each. Henwood added 26 assists while Belmontez and Chen paced the defense with 11 and nine digs each.
The first two points of set one went to Post but six straight points put the Hawks in the driver's seat early. Simmons registered three kills in the six-point stretch. Saint Anselm gapped the Eagles with a five-point run. Four Hawks registered a point on the run and led, 15-8. After some back-and-forth scoring, the Hawks closed set one by scoring seven of the final eight points and earning a 25-12 set victory.
Saint Anselm continued to push the pace and led early in set two, 9-2. Three runs of three consecutive points pushed the lead to 19-6. Henwood, Brown, Chen, and Wetjen all recorded points by way of kill or service ace. The Eagles rallied in the set, recording seven of 10 points which pushed the set score to 22-14. However, the early lead was too much to overcome and the Hawks closed out the set by a 25-16 score.
Post continued their late set two momentum into set three. After leading 6-5, the visitors tallied five consecutive points, coming from two errors, a pair of service aces from Kim Buttery, and a kill from Colleen Romero. A seven-point run and 11 of 12 points got the Hawks into the lead for the first time in the set and earned them a 20-15 lead. Six of the points were from kills by Belcher, Brown, and junior Kristen O'Keefe (Medford, Mass.). Belmontez and Chen added one of their two service aces in the match during the stretch as well. Two consecutive points for the Eagles got them back to within three but four straight points, including two Burdier service aces gave the Hawks a 24-17 lead. A kill from Henwood closed out the set and the match, giving the Hawks a 25-17 set win and a 3-0 match.
Saint Anselm heads to East Stroudsburg, Pa. for their third tri-match of the season on Friday, Sept. 10. First, they play Caldwell at 2 p.m. before taking on the hosts at 6 p.m.
