MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College volleyball team grabbed its ninth win of 2022 with a 3-1 victory over Assumption University in a non-conference match on Wednesday.

The Hawks improve to 9-5 on the season and will host NCAA Division I Stonehill College on Friday, Sept. 16 from Stoutenburgh Gymnasium. The Greyhounds fall to 1-3 on the season.

Saint Anselm opened the match with a 25-18 set win before the Greyhounds grabbed set two, 23-25. The Hawks rallied and posted wins in sets three and four by 25-19 and 25-16 scores to secure the match, 3-1.

Senior Lauren Casey (Jefferson City, Mo.) and sophomore Gabby Belcher (Buckeye, Ariz.) paced the Hawks offense with 15 and 13 kills each.

Leading the defensive charge was senior Caroline Belmontez (San Diego, Calif.) who posted 17 digs.

Senior Michelle Henwood (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) threw up 40 assists and added 14 digs for a double-double. Henwood now has 21 career matches with 40 or more assists.

SAINT ANSELM 3, ASSUMPTION 1

The Hawks used a seven-point run to take an early 7-2 lead in the opening set. Assumption would use a four-point run on kills by Madison Lupino, Anna Dean, and Alexis Distasio to push the score to 10-8 but the Hawks responded with a four points of their own to regain a 14-8 lead. Henwood and Casey registered a kill each while Brown posted a service ace on the Hawks run. The squads traded scores and a pair of service aces by sophomore Kennedy Scheppler (Lubbock, Texas) pushed the lead to seven at 21-14. Assumption would score on four of the next five to cut the Hawks lead to four but each of the final three points would go Saint Anselm's way to close out the opening set, 25-18.

A back and forth start to set two saw the Hawks take a 10-9 lead but five of next six scores would go to Assumption, giving them a 14-11 lead. Saint Anselm would tie the match at 15 after scoring on four of the next five points. Junior Alina Barbarena (Los Angeles, Calif.) capped off the Hawks run with a service ace. The Hawks later grabbed a 22-19 lead on kills by freshman Ava Kidd (Walton, Ky.) and junior Kaitlin Brown (Glendale, Ariz.). However, Assumption would storm back in the set and take a 24-22 lead on five straight points. A kill by Brown closed the deficit to one but an attack error sealed set two for the Greyhounds, 25-23.

Saint Anselm rattled off seven consecutive points to open set three as Kidd, Belcher, and Casey combined for five kills on the run. The Hawks continued to score in bunches later scoring on six straight points to hold a 14-3 gap over the Greyhounds. Five of the six points were on kills coming from Belcher, Wetjen, and Brown. Assumption would cut the gap to as little as six at 19-13 but the Hawks would outscore the Greyhounds by a 6-3 margin down the stretch as they would take a 2-1 edge in the match following the 25-16 set three.

The teams traded points early, pushing the fourth set to a deadlock at 11. The Hawks, behind kills by Casey, Belcher, and Kidd, would take a 17-11 lead with six consecutive points. Assumption responded with seven of the next eight to tie the set at 18. After the Hawks pushed the lead back out to three at 21-18, a service error got the Greyhounds on the board again but Saint Anselm closed the match out with a four-point run capped by a pair of Barbarena service aces to take the non-conference match by a 3-1 score.