MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Hawks women's volleyball team came out triumphant on Saturday, sweeping Franklin Pierce. Set scores were 25-18, 25-19, and 25-20.
UP NEXT:
- The Hawks will travel to Flushing, New York for a four game tournament from September 13th - September 14th.
Score: Saint Anselm 3, Franklin Pierce 0
Records: Saint Anselm (1-2); Franklin Pierce (1-2)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Stoutenburgh Gymnasium)
Date: Saturday, September 7th, 2024
Attendance: 156
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first set was dominated early by the Hawks as sophomore Hollyn Frano (Cave Creek, Ariz.) tallied four quick service aces accompanied by two kills by sophomore Melis Kocak (East Greenwich, R.I.) to put the Hawks ahead, 7-0, before the Ravens were forced into calling their first time out.
- Franklin Pierce responded with a pair of kills from Katholiki Koukia, which brought the score to 14-8, Saint Anselm, halfway through the opening set.
- Saint Anselm found their motor after sophomore Sam Pila (Melbourne, Australia) tabbed her first kill of the day. Freshman Hannah Storm (Swansea, Mass.) kept the train rolling when she registered her first service ace of the day to put the Hawks ahead, 20-13.
- The visitors made their final run of the set off of a pair of kills from Kennedie Manning and Annaka Lindstrong, bringing the set to within six points, but an error from the Ravens sealed the Hawks' 25-18 first set victory.
- The second set would become an even exchange of points for the two teams. Freshman Taylor Lacerda (Franklin, Mass.) recorded two kills for Saint Anselm, while Franklin Pierce capitalized off of errors and a kill from Manning to keep the score tied at 9-9.
- The squads continued to exchange points throughout the middle stages of the second set. Frano dialed up another service ace and Lacerda slammed home another kill for the Hawks. Martina Spackova registered a pair of huge blocks for the Ravens.
- Saint Anselm eventually found some breathing room and went ahead 20-16 as Kocak registered another kill and graduate student Jada Burdier (Haverhill, Mass.) collected a pair of powerful service aces that caused chaos for Franklin Pierce.
- The Hawks put together a 5-2 set-ending run with kills from Pila, Frano, and Lacerda to take a two-set lead in the match.
- Saint Anselm started the third set on a 6-3 run fired up by three more Lacerda kills and another Burdier service ace.
- The Ravens matched the Hawks with a pair of kills of their own off the swings of Koukia and Avery LeBlanc, evening the score at 9-9. A string of points between Frano and Kocak quickly put the home team back on top, 13-9.
- Franklin Pierce found one last push and took their last lead of the match with four strong swings that put them in front, 15-14.
- Saint Anselm then went on a 6-0 run of their own off of two more service aces from Burdier and another trio of kills from Lacerda.
- Frano got the last laugh of the match with a beautiful kill down the line to give the Hawks a 25-20 win in the third set, which earned them the sweep.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Lacerda led the offense with 12 kills (career-high), one service ace, and one dig. Kocak followed closely behind and tabbed 11 kills and two digs.
- The Hawks had a record-night on services, tying the third-most total service aces as a team in a three-set match. Burdier also set new career-high in aces with five, while Frano tied her career-high with seven.
- Defensively, the Saint Anselm were well-balanced with both Frano and sophomore Madeline Burke (Lake George, N.Y.) recording 11 digs apiece. Pila totaled 29 of the team's 34 assists.
- As a team, the Hawks registered 36 kills, 15 service aces, and 34 assists in the match.
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