SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College volleyball team split its matches on the second day of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame (IVHOF) Division II East Region Clash.
 
The Hawks opened their day with a win over Molloy by set scores of 25-16, 16-25, 25-21, and 25-19 before falling to the hosts, American International, in four sets, 25-14, 25-21, 23-25, and 25-23.
 
Saint Anselm moves to 8-5 on the season and will be back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 14 when the Hawks host Assumption University in a non-conference match set to start at 7 p.m.
 
Senior Lauren Casey (Jefferson City, Mo.) and sophomore Gabby Belcher (Buckeye, Ariz.) tied with 20 kills on the day while junior Audrey Wetjen (Henderson, Nev.) followed closely with 19. Junior Kaitlin Brown (Glendale, Ariz.) added 17 kills of her own for Saint Anselm.
 
Senior Michelle Henwood (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) posted 62 assists on the day and ranked second on the team with 22 digs. Henwood has recorded 20 or more assists in 10 matches this season.
 
Senior Caroline Belmontez (San Diego, Calif.) moved into eighth all-time in career digs as she now sits at 1,105 after posting a team-high 32 on Saturday.

Wetjen was selected to the IVHOF Division II East Region Clash All-Tournament Team.
 
SAINT ANSELM 3, MOLLOY 1
 
Saint Anselm opened the match with seven of the first nine points, following a kill by Henwood. Molloy closed the gap to two at 10-8 but another quick flurry of scores coming in five of the next six points reestablished the Hawks six-point edge at 15-9. A pair of three-point runs down the stretch put the Hawks on set point and a Molloy service error would give Saint Anselm a 25-16 set one win.
 
Set two started the same way as set one with the Hawks taking seven of the first nine points. However, Molloy would strike for nine consecutive points to cap a 13-1 run to push its lead to 15-8. The squads swapped scores and a three-point by the Hawks on a kill by Casey, a Molloy error, and a service ace Casey pushed the score to 21-16 in favor of the Lions. However, they would post the final four points of the set to even the match at one with a 25-16 set two win.
 
The teams traded points early in set three but the Hawks were the first to gain an advantage on a three-point run. Freshman Ava Kidd (Walton, Ky.) registered a pair of kills that sandwiched a Molloy error on that three-point swing. The Lions would respond with a four-point run to tie the set at 10 before Saint Anselm used a 10-3 run in the middle of the stanza to gain control of set three, leading 21-14. Molloy would close the gap with the Hawks nearing set point but a pair of errors by the Lions gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead in the match and a 25-21 set three win.
 
The Lions and Hawks battled throughout set four and it appeared as though Molloy gained control having scored on five of six points to take a 16-14 lead. However, six-consecutive points with kills going to Belcher, Wetjen, and Brown and a pair of service aces gave Saint Anselm a 20-16 lead. The Hawks pushed themselves to match point with a four-point run before a Molloy error closed the set at 25-19 and the match at 3-1 for the Hawks.
 
AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL 3, SAINT ANSELM 1
 
The Yellow Jackets stormed out to a 10-5 to open the first set. They would extend their lead when they scored on five of six points to take a 17-9 lead. American International held their eight-point edge late into the opening set and a kill from Kidd cut into the deficit, pushing the score to 21-14. The Yellow Jackets rattled off four consecutive kills to close out the first set, 25-14.
 
American International jumped out to a 10-5 lead to open set two, mirroring the opening frame. They would extend the lead to 17-10 before the Hawks posted four consecutive points on three kills and an error. The teams traded scores and back-to-back points by the Hawks on a kill by Brown and an American International error closed the Hawks deficit to two at 23-21. However, a pair of Yellow Jackets kills closed the set 25-21 and gave them a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Saint Anselm took an early edge in set three as they used a five-point run to take a 10-4 lead. American International responded with four of the next five points before the Hawks scored on six of the next seven, pushing the set to 17-9 in favor of Saint Anselm. The Yellow Jackets responded with a six-point run, cutting the Hawks lead to two and would later use a three-point run to push the set to 22-21. That forced a timeout from Saint Anselm who would capitalize on three errors in the final five points to push the match to a fourth set following the 25-23 set three.
 
The squads traded scores throughout set four with neither team leading by more than four on their way to a tie at 16. The teams continued to swap scores with the Hawks leading 21-19 on a Yellow Jackets error. American International would go on to grab four of the final five points in the set to take the match, three sets to one, following the 25-23 set four.