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2022 Volleyball Team Celebration

PREVIEW: Women's volleyball to meet Southern N.H. in East Region Semifinals

11/17/2022 7:00:00 PM

MANCHESTER, N.H. – After grabbing their second win all-time in the NCAA East Regional over Daemen (N.Y.) on Nov. 17, the Saint Anselm College volleyball team meets crosstown rival Southern New Hampshire University on Friday, Nov. 18 at 5 p.m.

SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE HAWKS (20-9, 9-3 NE10)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2022 Statistics | News

SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIVERSITY PENMEN (17-7, 9-3 NE10)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2022 Statistics | News

The Hawks (21-9) earned the seventh-seed in East Regional and dispatched the reigning East Region champions, Daemen (N.Y.) in three sets on Nov. 17. Saint Anselm will now meet the Penmen from Southern New Hampshire, the sixth-seed in the bracket after their upset win over the third-seed Bentley University, also on Nov. 17. The East Region's top-seed, American International, will host the East Regional Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals between Thursday, Nov. 17 and Saturday, Nov. 19 from the Henry A. Butova Gymnasium.

The Hawks win over Daemen (N.Y.) marked just their second win all-time in the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship. This will also be the second time in program history for Saint Anselm to reach the East Region Semifinals. The Hawks qualified for the semifinals in the 2019 season when the program downed New Haven in the Quarterfinals before ultimately falling to Molloy in the Semifinals. 

The Penmen earned an at-large bid to the NCAA East Regional. The team suffered a five-set loss to the eventual NE10 Champion American International. The Penmen are making their first ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship and earned their first win over Bentley on Thursday.

Saint Anselm has now tied a program record for wins in a single season with 21.  The 2022 squad becomes just the fifth team in program history to reach at least 20 wins with the program reaching the 20-win threshold two out of the last three full seasons of competition The team also set a program record to begin the season with seven consecutive wins and a consecutive set winning streak of 19.

SCOUTING SAINT ANSELM
  • Saint Anselm was projected to finish fourth in the annual Northeast-10 Preseason Coaches' Poll, released this past August. The Hawks have now entered the season inside the top-four in the Preseason Poll for consecutive seasons for the first time in program history, adding a third-place projection in 2021. American International College, the 2021 and 2022 NE10 Champion was projected to finish atop the poll.
  • Entering the 2022 season, under the guidance of Head Coach Braden Zamore who is now in his eighth season at the helm of the program, the Hawks had qualified for their fifth consecutive appearance in the NE10 postseason and had set a program record in 2021 of 16 consecutive sets won. Saint Anselm had also posted double-digit wins and a record north of .500 in five consecutive full seasons of competition.
  • Zamore is the winningest coach in Hawks history, owning a 124-79 (.609) overall record through eight seasons on the Hilltop. He joined the program in 2015 after seven seasons at Daniel Webster (NCAA Division III) as the men's and women's volleyball coach, earning four NECC Coach of the Year honors during his tenure.
  • Last time out, the Hawks registered just their second victory in the NCAA Division II East Regional, downing the second-seed and reigning East Region champion, Daemen (N.Y.), in straight sets. Senior Lauren Casey (Jefferson City, Mo.) posted a match-high 18 kills while junior Kaitlin Brown (Glendale, Ariz.) added 11 kills and led the defense with 13 digs. Senior Michelle Henwood (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) threw up 38 assists in the win over the Wildcats.
  • On Friday, Nov. 11, Henwood and Casey were named to the All-Conference Second team while senior Caroline Belmontez (San Diego, Calif.) earned placement on the All-Conference Third Team. Freshman Ava Kidd (Walton, Ky.) was selected to the All-Rookie Team.
  • Casey ranks fifth in the NE10 with an average of 3.33 kills per set, aiding her to the highest kills per set ratio in program history at 3.18. The senior has a total of 323 kills which is fifth most in the conference. Casey is second on the team with 39 service aces, trailing only Henwood. Casey's 39 service aces are good for a tie for 11th in the NE10 and aids the Hawks to the ninth best service aces per set ratio in all of NCAA Division II at 2.36.
  • Henwood ranks fourth in program history with 2,911 career assists. In 2022, the senior has posted 859 assists, good for an average of 9.04 per set. Compared to the NE10, Henwood ranks fourth in assists and in assists per set. The senior leads the Hawks and is tied for sixth in the NE10 with 43 service aces this season. Henwood has aided the team in all facets of play as she has 108 kills and is second on the team with 299 digs, averaging 3.15 per set in 95 sets played this season. In program history, Henwood ranks second in assists per set (9.13), second in service attempts (1,377), fourth in attack percentage (0.308), sixth in service aces per set (0.39), and eighth in service aces (125).
  • Belmontez was third on the Hawks with nine digs in the win over Daemen, bringing her to 1,313 career digs. Belmontez is just the fifth Saint Anselm student-athlete to eclipse the 1,300 career digs mark and is fifth all-time in that metric. The senior leads the Hawks and ranks sixth in the NE10 with 383 digs this season, good for an average of 3.75 per set which is 11th best in the conference. Belmontez ranks second in volleyball program history with an average of 4.09 digs per set. She ranks eighth in service aces per set (0.37), ninth in service aces (119), and ninth in service attempts (1,077).
  • Brown and sophomore Gabby Belcher (Buckeye, Ariz.) are second and third on the Hawks with 225 and 212 kills each respectively. Brown collected NE10 Player of the Week honors on Sept. 19 after averaging a team-best 3.12 kills per set in a pair of four-set victories over Assumption in non-conference action and over NCAA Division I Stonehill. Belcher was a NE10 All-Rookie Team selection in 2021.
  • Kidd was named the first NE10 Rookie of the Week in 2022 after registering 10 kills on 12 attempts for a blistering 0.833 hitting percentage in her collegiate debut on Aug. 25 against Valdosta State. Kidd is averaging 1.60 kills per set, totaling 147 kills this season. Kidd ranks fifth on the squad in kills and in kills per set. The freshman ranks second on the team with 66.0 blocks, stemming from 14 solo blocks and 52 assisted.
  • Junior Audrey Wetjen (Henderson, Nev.) leads the Saint Anselm net defense with 77.0 blocks. She leads the Hawks with 24 solo blocks and 53 assisted, good for an average of 0.80 blocks per set. Wetjen's 77.0 total blocks rank seventh in the NE10 and her blocks per set ratio is good for 14th in the conference. Wetjen has added 184 kills for the Hawks offense, which is good for fourth on the squad.
  • Saint Anselm began varsity competition in 1976 under the direction of Donna Guimont. Guimont led the program for four seasons before Nancy Zeloski and Eileen Mason led the Hawks for one season each through 1981. The volleyball program returned to the Hilltop in 1993 with Lloyd Sheehan. Leading up to Zamore's appointment in 2015, seven individuals had coached Saint Anselm from the 1998 season through 2014.
  • Saint Anselm has made 14 appearances in the NE10 postseason and currently owns a 3-17 (.150) record in those matches. The program registered its first win in 2017, a five-set thriller over New Haven, and later earned its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship. The Hawks also won their NE10 quarterfinal round match in the 2018 and 2019 seasons and earned at-large bids to those NCAA tournaments, marking three consecutive appearances in the NCAA East Regional.
  • The volleyball program registered its first win in the NCAA postseason during the 2019 season in a four-set win over New Haven in the First Round before falling in five to Molloy, who ended up winning the East Region in 2019.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE
  • No. 6-seeded Southern New Hampshire (17-7) is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Championship. The Penmen collected an at-large bid after falling to American International in five sets in the NE10 Semifinals.
  • Southern New Hampshire made just its sixth appearance all-time in the NE10 postseason and downed the Hawks in the Quarterfinals round for its first-ever win in the conference bracket.
  • Head Coach Dega da Gama is in his sixth season at the helm of the Penmen Volleyball Program. Since falling to American International in the regular season on Oct. 22, the Penmen won four of their final five regular season matches before the NE10 postseason which saw the squad go 1-1.
  • Ana Pimenta was honored by the NE10 with All-Conference Second Team honors while Sara Montefameglio and Deanne Wilson collected All-Conference Third Team nods.
  • Pimenta has 299 kills this season and owns an average of 3.56 kills per set, which ranks second in the conference. Dai Thawnghmung and Alice Arletti rank second and third on the squad with 197 and 163 kills each respectively.
  • Montefameglio is averaging 8.85 assists per set and has a total of 628 helpers in 71 sets played this season. Montefameglio is tied for the team lead with 32 service aces, joining Wilson at the top of the roster in that metric.
  • Wilson leads the Penmen defense with 419 digs, averaging 4.82 per set. Arletti has 74.0 blocks this season, good for an average of 0.90 blocks per set.
ALL-TIME vs. SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE
  • The programs will be meeting for the 62nd time in the all-time series and fourth time in 2022. The Penmen took a 31-30 lead with their win in the NE10 Quarterfinals on Nov. 10
  • This season, the Hawks took a non-conference match by a 3-1 score from Stoutenburgh Gymnasium before dropping both of the last two matches in straight sets, coming on Oct. 26 and Nov. 10, both from the Southern New Hampshire campus.
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