MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College women's volleyball team swept Saint Michael's College, 3-0, at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium in a non-conference matchup to open the 2026 season and the Hawks' home schedule.
Saint Anselm 3, Saint Michael's 0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-19)
Highlights
- Saint Anselm is now 28-17 all-time against Saint Michael's with a nine-match win streak for the Hawks when playing at Stoutenburgh Gym.
- Senior Sam Pila and junior Taylor Lacerda led the Hawks with eight kills apiece, while Lacerda added two service aces and six digs to finish with 10 points.
- Sophomore Etta Rocco also finished with 10 points, recording six kills and a team-high seven blocks, including one solo block and six block assists.
- Sophomore Mckenna O'Connell led all players with 29 assists while adding four service aces, seven digs, two kills and two block assists.
- Senior Madeline Burke anchored the Saint Anselm defense with a team-high 14 digs.
- The Hawks held Saint Michael's to a .081 hitting percentage while hitting .260 as a team and finishing ahead in kills (38-26), aces (7-2), blocks (7-6), assists (32-24), and digs (44-37).
How it Happened
SET 1 | Saint Anselm took an early 4-2 lead before Saint Michael's pulled even at 5-5. The Hawks then created separation, using a 4-0 run to move ahead 14-8 before extending the lead to 18-9 with another four straight points. The Purple Knights answered with a 3-0 stretch to cut the deficit to 18-12, but Saint Anselm responded with four of the next five points to reach 22-13. The Hawks closed the opener on a 3-0 run, winning 25-15 after Saint Michael's committed consecutive attack errors.
SET 2 | Saint Anselm jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Saint Michael's briefly moved ahead, 4-3. The Hawks responded with a 4-0 run behind consecutive kills from Lacerda and then took control with a dominant 7-0 surge, turning a 6-6 tie into a 13-6 advantage. Saint Anselm continued to build its lead, later scoring five straight points to move from 15-8 to 20-8. The Purple Knights managed three consecutive points late, but the Hawks answered with three of the final four points to take the second set, 25-11, and move within one set of the sweep.
SET 3 | Saint Anselm came out firing in the final frame, scoring the first seven points to take a 7-0 lead behind a pair of blocks and two service aces from O'Connell. Saint Michael's responded with a 4-0 run of its own, but the Hawks maintained a comfortable advantage at 12-5 before the Purple Knights began to chip away. A 4-0 Saint Michael's stretch trimmed the deficit to 16-12, and another three-point run later made it 18-15. Saint Anselm answered with three of the next four points to regain a 22-17 advantage, and after Saint Michael's pulled within 24-19, the Hawks finished the sweep on a Purple Knights service error, 25-19.
Up Next
Saint Anselm women's volleyball (1-0, 0-0 NE10) continues its opening weekend of non-conference action with another match at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 29 against Dominican (N.Y.) University.
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