MANCHESTER, N.H. –  The Saint Anselm College women's volleyball team battled to a straight-sets victory over Assumption University on Tuesday night by a 25-22, 25-23, 25-19 final.
UP NEXT:

• The Hawks travel to East Stroudsburg, Pa. this weekend for three games against Holy Family, East Stroudsburg, and Jefferson.

Score: Saint Anselm 3, Assumption 0
Records: Saint Anselm (3-5); Assumption (1-7)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stoutenburgh Gymnasium)
Date: Tuesday, September 17th, 2024
Attendance: 156
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the first set, the visiting Greyhounds took an early 9-3 advantage over the Hawks with kills from Alexis Distasio.
• After taking a timeout, the Saint Anselm squad began to find momentum in the set with sophomore Melis Kocak (East Greenwich, R.I.) and freshman Taylor Lacerda (Franklin, Mass.) each notching kills, and junior Skylar Ryan (Channahon, Ill.) bringing home a service ace.
• After earning a two-point lead, Distasio tabbed two more kills to help the Greyhounds regain a 19-17 advantage.
• Sophomore Hollyn Frano (Cave Creek, Ariz.) then struck quickly with two kills. Two Assumption errors put the Hawks back on top, 22-20.
• The visitors were able to squeak two more points out with a pair of errors from the Hawks, but Kocak finalized the first set victory with two more kills.
• The second set proved to be another battle between the teams. Distasio and sophomore Miia Dembski (Buffalo, NY) traded kills early in the set, keeping the score at 7-5 in favor of Saint Anselm. Kocak helped bring the Hawks' lead up to five points with a kill that made it 13-8.
• Assumption found their momentum with a couple of errors from Saint Anselm. Kills from Distasio and Kaitlyn Montgomery after that put the Greyhounds in front, 17-16.
• The Greyhounds found themselves up, 22-19, after a service ace by Barbara Illig and pair of Hawks attacking errors.
• However, the Hawks rallied to take a 24-23 advantage off of a service ace from sophomore Madeline Burke (Lake George, NY) and another kill from Kocak, forcing the visitors to take a time out. Out of the timeout, junior Abby Macalaguim (Chula Vista, Calif.) ended the second set victory with a service ace.
• In the third set, Saint Anselm jumped out to an early 11-6 advantage as Frano recorded a pair of kills and service ace in addition to a kill from Ryan.
• Saint Anselm continued to roll as their serves proved challenging for Assumption. Macalaguim extended the Hawks' lead to 16-8 with another service ace.
• Assumption managed a 3-0 run behind a pair of errors from the home team and a kill from Anna Dean, but Saint Anselm responded with a 3-0 run of their own courtesy of some strong serves including an ace by freshman Hannah Storm (Swasea, Mass.) that put them ahead, 19-11.
• The final three Hawks points of the match were all kills by Kocak, which secured the team its third win of the season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

• Kocak led the offense with 13 kills, along with a block and a dig. Frano put together another all-round performance tabbing 10 kills, an ace, an assist and two digs.
• On the passing end, sophomore Sam Pila (Melbourne, Australia) led the way with a career high 21 assists in addition to three kills, nine digs and a pair of aces.
• Defensively, Burke and Ryan held down the court, with Burke recording 17 digs and Ryan with 11.
• As a team, the Hawks registered 36 kills, 36 assists, 54 digs and nine aces.

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