GREENWOOD, S.C. – The Saint Anselm College women's volleyball team fell in five sets to Winston Salem State University before defeating Chowan University in four sets on the final day of the Redderson Invitational hosted by Lander University at Finis Horne Arena, as their record now sits at 3-3 on the year.
Match 1: Winston-Salem State 3, Saint Anselm 2 (25-19, 19-25, 26-24, 12-25, 8-15)
Highlights
- Junior Hollyn Frano led the Hawks offense with 17.5 points, notching a season-high 17 kills to go with eight digs and a block assist.
- Freshman Mckenna O'Connell had her second 40-assist match of the season, this time eclipsing her career-high with 44, also notching 12 digs, two service aces, and two assists, for her fourth double-double of the season.
- Freshman Peyton Elward had another efficient game attacking, recording 11 kills on a .346 hit percentage.
- Sophomore Taylor Lacerda converted on .258 percent of her attacks, tallying 10 kills, three assists, and a block assist.
SET 1 | Elward got off to a hot start for the Hawks, recording three kills to propel Saint Anselm to an 11-8 lead. Winston-Salem had three straight attacking errors that helped the Hawks grow their lead to six, 17-11. Elward had two more kills down the stretch in the set as Saint A's won the first set, 25-19.
SET 2 | The beginning of the second set was back-and-forth but a four straight scores from the Rams, put them ahead by three, 11-8. Winston-Salem increased its lead with a 6-1, building a 20-14 advantage. Saint Anselm chipped away to make it 22-19, but the Rams secured the set victory with the final three points, 25-19.
SET 3 | The Hawks jumped out to an early advantage in the third set, with three kills from Lacerda catapulting Saint Anselm to an 11-7 lead. A 5-0 scoring spree from the Rams put Winston-Salem State in front, 14-12, before eventually leading by as much as five, 20-15. Saint Anselm rallied, stealing the third set, 26-24, with a kill from O'Connell.
SET 4 | Winston-Salem controlled the fourth set early on with a 7-1 lead, as the Rams lead ballooned up to 13, 21-8. WSSU won the fourth in commanding fashion, 25-12.
SET 5 | The Hawks scored the first point of the tiebreaker set but fell behind quickly with six consecutive scores from the Rams. Winston-Salem was able to put the match away, winning the fifth set, 15-8.
Match 2: Saint Anselm 3, Chowan 1 (16-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-16)
Highlights
- Frano led the Hawks offense in scoring once again, tallying 16 kills on a strong hit percentage of .361.
- Lacerda hit double digit kills for the second straight game, also tallying 13 digs for her second double-double of the season.
- O'Connell had another 40-assist performance (41) while recording a career-high 18 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.
- Rocco netted 10.5 points for the Hawks on nine kills, one assist, a solo block, a block assist and three digs.
- Junior libero Madeline Burke led the team's defensive efforts on the back line, recording 23 digs in the first match before finishing with 19 in the second match of the day.
SET 1 | The match began with both teams trading points, but an ace, a kill, and an attacking error from the Hawks gave Chowan an 11-8 lead. Chowan, also the Hawks, went on a 6-0 run as their lead increased to eight, 22-14. Chowan was able to secure the first set victory, 25-16.
SET 2 | Saint Anselm scored the first four points of the second set with two service aces from Lacerda, but Chowan answered quickly, tying it up at 6-6. The set saw five more ties, with both teams being knotted up late, 20-20. Saint Anselm went on a 5-1 run to end the set and tie the match, 1-1.
SET 3 | Chowan, sparked by an early 5-0 run, took an 8-3 lead that was quickly answered as Saint A's countered with a 7-0 scoring spree, giving the Hawks a 10-8 edge. Saint Anselm carried its momentum through the middle of the set with kills from five different Hawks, adding on to their lead, 18-12. A pair of kills from Frano and a final kill from Elward won Saint A's the set, 25-18, as the Hawks took a 2-1 match lead.
SET 4 | Just like the second set, Saint Anselm tallied the first four points of the set to take an early lead but Chowan was able to respond, trimming its deficit to just one point, 8-7. The Hawks put together a strong stretch of play, forcing a Chowan timeout as Saint Anselm led 14-8. Out of the timeout, Chowan scored six of the next eight points, cutting into the Haws lead, making the score 16-14. The rest of the set belonged to Saint Anselm, as freshman
Addison Shelton led the offense with a pair of kills and Chowan had four attacking errors as the Hawks won the set and the match, 25-16.
Up Next
The Hawks (3-3, 0-0 NE10) will host Southern New Hampshire University (0-5, 0-0 NE10) at Stoutenburgh Gym on Wednesday, September 17, at 6:00 p.m.
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