MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College women's volleyball team delivered one of the most efficient offensive performances in program history on Tuesday, sweeping Southern New Hampshire University, 3-0, at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium. The Hawks finished with a .463 team attack percentage, the third-best single-match mark in program history, while improving to 9-3 on the season with the non-conference victory.
Saint Anselm 3, Southern New Hampshire 0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-16)
Highlights
- Saint Anselm wins its third consecutive game against the Penmen, improving to 34-35 all-time against Southern New Hampshire.
- Sophomore Peyton Elward led all players with 10 kills while committing no errors on 11 attacks, finishing with a .909 hitting percentage and 13.0 points.
- Sophomore Etta Rocco added seven kills on nine attacks for a .667 hitting percentage while contributing five block assists and 9.5 points.
- Freshman Riley Campo posted eight kills on 15 attacks, hitting .400 while adding two block assists and one ace for 10.0 points.
- Junior Taylor Lacerda recorded six kills without an attack error, hitting .545 on 11 swings.
- Sophomore Mckenna O'Connell directed the Saint Anselm offense with 36 assists while adding six digs, three block assists, one service ace and two kills.
- Senior Sam Pila had eight kills with just one error on 29 attempts for a .241 attack percentage, adding 10 digs and two block assists.
- Senior Madeline Burke led the Hawks with 12 digs to go with two assists and one ace.
- Saint Anselm finished the night with 41 kills against just four attack errors on 80 attempts, good for a .463 team attack percentage. This was the best attack percentage since the Hawks posted a .434 mark against Felician in 2021, and is just below the programs second-best mark of .473 that the team recorded in 1998 at Rivier University.
- The Hawks also recorded 40 assists, 39 digs, eight total blocks and four service aces in the victory.
How it Happened
SET 1 | Saint Anselm opened with a 2-0 advantage before Southern New Hampshire answered to take a 6-5 lead. The Hawks responded with a 6-0 run to move ahead 11-8, then extended the margin to 16-10 behind two kills from Elward and a kill from O'Connell. Saint Anselm maintained control down the stretch, with Rocco and Pila combining for the final two kills in a 25-17 victory.
SET 2 | The Hawks established early separation in the second frame, turning a 3-2 advantage into an 8-3 lead before extending the margin to 12-4. Southern New Hampshire briefly trimmed the deficit to 14-10, but Saint Anselm answered by scoring seven of the next nine points to take a 21-12 lead. Elward added a service ace at 24-14 before O'Connell finished the set with a kill for a 25-15 win.
SET 3 | Saint Anselm raced out to an 8-2 lead behind kills from Pila, Campo and Lacerda, along with an ace from Burke. The Hawks later stretched the advantage to 14-9 before a 5-0 run pushed the lead to 19-14, followed by another three consecutive points to make it 22-14. Elward and Rocco combined on the final two Saint Anselm points, with Rocco's kill securing the 25-16 sweep.
Up Next
The Saint Anselm women's volleyball team (9-3, 0-0 NE10) returns to action Saturday, Sept. 26, traveling to Bentley University (8-6, 0-0 NE10) for a 1 p.m. matchup at the Dana Center in Waltham, Mass.
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