SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team earned its first win over 2023 NCAA Tournament qualifier Southern New Hampshire University since 2011 with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-19) victory on Saturday. The contest was the Purple Knights' third of the weekend at American International College's International Volleyball Hall of Fame East Region Clash in Butova Gymnasium.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (4-8), Southern New Hampshire (3-9)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Alexandra Báez Rentas (San Juan, Puerto Rico/New Dimensions), 29 assists, 17 digs
• Senior Jillian Orth (Bourne, Mass./Bourne), 10 digs
• Junior Dana Welch (Howell, N.J./Donovan Catholic), 10 kills
• Sophomore Kyla Farnan (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle), 11 digs, 3 aces
• First-year Anna Daggett (Hinesburg, Vt./Champlain Valley Union), 9 digs
• First-year Mahili McKay (Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd), 8 kills
• First-year Nora Schulze (Hingham, Mass./Hingham), 13 kills, .400 hitting
• First-year D'Niaya Settles (Ames, Iowa/Ames), 3 aces

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Eyleen Dias, 13 digs
• Senior Deanne Wilson, 9 kills, 9 digs
• Junior Ella Koelb, 13 assists
• First-year Addie Garn, 15 assists, 10 digs

MATCH FACTS

• The East Region Clash also featured AIC and the University of Bridgeport, which Saint Michael's faced on Friday. All three Purple Knight opponents qualified for the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
• The Purple Knights earned their first win over the Penmen since Sept. 20, 2011.
• Farnan was named to the all-tournament team.

THE ACTION

• Schulze's kill gave Saint Michael's a 20-16 lead in the opening set before Wilson picked up two kills and Garn dropped a tying ace in a 5-1 counter. Back-to-back Welch kills helped the Purple Knights reach set point, 24-22, but the next two points went to the Penmen. A service error put Saint Michael's back in front, and Báez Rentas and Cucura combined for a clinching block.
• Two aces by Settles and one from Farnan helped the Purple Knights grab a 13-7 lead in the second set, but consecutive Koelb aces keyed a tying 10-4 run, with Wilson's kill making it 17-all. Schulze responded with a kill, the first of three in a six-point span, which helped the Purple and Gold take the final lead.
• The Penmen used a 5-0 run to nab a 10-8 lead in set No. 3, but Schulze and Settles both had two kills and a block in a 9-0 response, and Saint Michael's fended off a late 6-0 Penmen run for the comfortable set win.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH

• Friday at Babson College, 7 p.m.
• The Beavers qualified for the 2023 NCAA Division III Tournament and received votes toward the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll.