SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Taking on the reigning NCAA Division II East Region champions, the Saint Anselm College women's volleyball team produced a convincing straight-set victory over Daemen University on Thursday to open the NCAA postseason.
Following the team's East Region Quarterfinals victory, the Hawks improve to 21-9 overall on the season while Daemen, receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Coaches' Poll, sees its season end with a 20-6 record.
Thursday's result was the first straight-set victory for Saint Anselm in NCAA postseason play. The Hawks are moving onto the East Region semifinals for the first time since 2019 and remain in search of the program's first regional championship.
Matching a program record with 21 wins on the season (2019), Saint Anselm will take on the winner of Thursday's match between Bentley and Southern New Hampshire on Friday, Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. All matches are played on the campus of American International College, the host institution and top seed in the East Region Championship.
"We knew we were playing an incredible program coming off of a conference championship and we knew we had our work cut out for us," said Head Coach Braden Zamore. "This is probably our best team match that we've played, consistency wise. Everyone that was out there [for us] was ready, prepared and they executed."
Senior Lauren Casey (Jefferson City, Mo.) led student-athletes from both teams with 18 kills and just one attacking error in the match, adding three block assists and seven digs. Hitting .459 on the match, Casey took 16 of her team's 40 swings in the third and final set, producing six kills without an error.
Junior Kaitlin Brown (Glendale, Ariz.) produced 11 kills on 25 attacks, committing just two errors, while hammering home two of her team's three service aces. Defensively, she was also the leader with 13 digs to her credit. Senior Michelle Henwood (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) set up a team-best 38 of her team's 45 kills, adding three kills on seven attacks.
With the score tied at 17 in the first set, Saint Anselm captured a three-point lead with two attacking errors sandwiching a kill by Casey, set up by Henwood. The Hawks would go on to take a 25-23 first-set victory as sophomore Gabby Belcher (Buckeye, Ariz.) hammered home the kill at set point.
Down by two points in the second set, 20-18, the Hawks scored five of the next six points to flip the script. Ahead 23-21, Casey posted back-to-back kills to catapult her team to a 2-0 match lead. She had her most efficient set of the day, posting eight kills on 12 errorless swings as the Hawks hit .472 in the stanza.
Tied once again in the third set, Saint Anselm recorded nine of the next 11 points to take a commanding 23-16 advantage. Daemen had a game-ending attack error at match point, sending the Hawks on to the next round of NCAA competition. Casey had her team's final four kills of the match.
