Women's Volleyball Bested by Southern Connecticut State, 3-2, in NE10 Tilt

Box Score NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team fell to Southern Connecticut State University, 3-2 (25-17, 25-16, 16-25, 18-25, 15-12), on Friday at Pelz Gymnasium during Northeast-10 Conference play.

RECORDS

Saint Michael's (6-11, 4-6 NE10), Southern Connecticut State (14-16, 2-8 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

Sophomore Dana Welch (Howell, N.J./Donovan Catholic), 13 kills, 11 digs
Junior Alexandra Báez Rentas (San Juan, Puerto Rico/New Dimensions), 35 assists, 23 digs, 4 kills, 3 aces
Sophomore Ella Patterson (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago), 9 kills, 11 digs, 4 aces
First-year Grace Almeida (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa), 7 kills, .312 hitting
Senior Caitlin O'Connor (Bourne, Mass./Bourne), 7 kills
Senior Beth Syverson (Huntington, Vt./Mount Mansfield Union/Emmanuel [Mass.]) 5 kills, 3 blocks
First-year Kyla Farnan (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle), 21 digs
First-year Katarina Mladenovic (Chicago, Ill./Maine South), 13 digs, 4 aces

OPPONENT LEADERS

Senior Sara Enright, 15 kills, 7 digs, 5 aces
First-year Carissa Michel, 14 kills, 15 digs, 3 blocks
First-year Ahunna James, 7 kills, 9 digs
Sophomore Sofia Suarez Ramos, 7 kills, 6 blocks
Junior Lily Miller, 42 assists, 10 digs
Sophomore Aubrey Villena, 15 digs

MATCH FACTS

Saint Michael's had a season-high 15 aces, its most since dropping 16 last Aug. 27 against D'Youville University.
The Purple and Gold held the advantage in service aces (15-11) and digs (90-75).

THE ACTION

The Owls never lost the lead in set No.1 after breaking a 2-2 tie on an ace from Enright. Enright's kill capped a 12-6 run that made it 12-8 before the Purple Knights scored three straight points, including one on an Almeida kill. However, Southern Connecticut State went on an 11-4 run to pull away.
The two teams played evenly in the beginning of set No. 2, with five ties in the opening of the set. The Owls broke the even play by going on an 8-0 run, led by two kills apiece from Enright and first-year Sarah Stark. The visitors scored three straight points, with Báez Rentas dropping an ace for the middle point, to draw within 13-9, but the Owls returned with a 7-1 run, extending their lead to 20-10. They never again led by fewer than eight to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Purple Knights jumped out to an 8-4 lead in set No. 3, keyed by a 5-0 run during which Welch had three kills and Patterson contributed two consecutive aces. Patterson collected two kills and Mladenovic two aces in a 6-0 run that extended the lead to 16-7, and Patterson's ace later gave her team a set-high 21-11 lead. The Owls brought the Purple Knight lead down to only seven in the final stretch, but the final two points were accounted for by an O'Connor/Syverson tandem block and Patterson's kill.
The Purple Knights and Owls had four ties in the beginning of set No. 4 before the Owls went on a 7-2 run, led by two kills from James, to make the score 10-6. The Purple and Gold returned with a 7-3 run to tie the set at 13, keyed by three kills from Welch. After two more stalemates, the Purple Knights capped off the set on a 10-2 run, during which five players had kills and two more dropped aces.
Southern Connecticut State scored the first three points of set No. 5 en route to taking an 8-4 lead. The Purple Knights responded with the next five points, with Báez Rentas notching two kills, to take a 9-8 lead. The Owls tallied the next five points to spark a match-clinching 7-3 run, led by Enright's three kills.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH