Complete Game Notes as a PDF

THE ROAD AHEAD
The Southern Connecticut State University volleyball team got back to its winning ways with back-to-back victories over Southern New Hampshire and Le Moyne over the weekend. To start things off this week, the Owls will travel to Springfield, Mass. to square off against American International on Tuesday followed by a home match against Merrimack on Friday at 7 p.m. The Owls enter the week with a 16-5 overall record and are 4-3 in conference play.

BACK IN BLACK
Jade Black was the workhorse of the team this past week as she totaled 51 digs (4.25/set) and 31 kills (2.58/set). She now has five double-doubles on the season after an 18 dig and 13 kill performance against SNHU followed by a 21 dig and 14 kill showing the next day against Le Moyne.

NEVER GIVE UP
With another five set victory over Le Moyne on Sunday, the Owls are undefeated on the season, 4-0, in matches that require a fifth set.

ATTACK FROM THE MID
Syriah Celestine lit up the middle of the net last week with a scorching 0.377 hitting percentage with 28 kills (2.33/set). She also added 10 block assists on the week including six in the match against Southern New Hampshire on Oct. 6.

LATHROP BLOCKS THE WAY HOME
Olivia Lathrop shattered a career best in block assists with seven against Le Moyne on Oct. 7. She blocked or assisted a block in all but four of the Owls total blocks on the day. She is currently tied with Syriah Celestine for most blocks on the season with 53.

BACK-TO-BACK
Lauren McVey was honored by both the Northeast-10 Conference and the ECAC for two weeks earlier this season. She claimed back-to-back ECAC Division II Player of the Week honors and a Northeast-10 Player of the Week and Weekly Honor Roll selection to her credit.

ALL-TIME AGAINST AIC
AIC leads the all-time series by a 23-6 margin over the Owls. However, SCSU claimed a 3-2 win over the Yellow Jackets in a non-conference match on Sept. 14.

ALL-TIME AGAINST MERRIMACK
Merrimack leads the all-time series against SCSU, 13-7.

TIME TO SHINE FOR CARLBERT
Natasha Carlbert stepped up to the starting role for the first time this season replacing the injured Lauren McVey. She totaled six kills off a 0.225 hitting percentage this week including two block assists in the match against Assumption.

EVERYONE PLAYS
Last week the Owls utilized most, if not all, of their weapons from the bench to try and gain an edge. In addition to the starting seven, Kelly Gunneson, Taylor Carlson, Morgan Carman and Madison Featherston all saw significant action.

DUALING LIBEROS
The starting libero, Vanessa Sullivan, averaged 3.86 digs/set last week, while her protege, Morgan Carman, averaged 3.0 digs/set.

THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE
Three Owls have been vying for top of the block charts since the beginning of the season as Sarah Beres has been overtaken  by fellow teammates Syriah Celestine (53) and Olivia Lathrop (53) with 52 total blocks to her credit.

THE TRADITION IS WINNING
The Owls tied a program record with a 13-match win streak  from Sept. 1-22. The streak included wins against Queens, Concordia, Georgian Court, Felician, Molloy, Philadelphia, Bentley, Concordia, AIC, Dominican, Bloomfield, Saint Rose and Caldwell. SCSU also won 13 in a row to start the 2009 season.

SLOWING DOWN THE PACE
The next few weeks will be much easier on the Owls' travel schedule. Southern Connecticut played 16 matches in a span of 23 days to start the year, but  are in the midst of playing eight over a 23 day stretch that began against Assumption.

HONORED WEEKLY
Lauren McVey and Jade Black have been among the Owls to receive weekly honors this year. McVey was selected as the ECAC Division II Player of the Week twice, while both have been named to the Northeast-10 weekly honor roll.

STEPPING UP
Lauren McVey once again came up huge in the clutch for the Owls. She recorded a season-high in digs with 28 in a four-set match against Caldwell on Sept. 22.

DIG DUG
The Owls' libero, Vanessa Sullivan, managed her highest two game dig totals to date with 30 digs against Caldwell and 26 later on the same day against USciences on Sept. 22.

BLACK IS ON TRACK
Jade Black had her third double-double of the season with a 13 kill and 27 dig performance against Univ. of the Sciences on Sept. 22. The 27 digs were her career best as an Owl.

DOUBLE THE DANGER
Lauren McVey and Kimberly Lachowicz have improved their double-double totals on the season to nine and seven, respectively.

GOING THE DISTANCE
The Owls managaed back-to-back five set victories against Concordia on Sept. 13 and American International on Sept. 14.

BATTLE TESTED
Southern newcomer Jade Black has quickly become one of the Owls' go to threats. She managed 2.66 kills/set and 2.44 digs/set through 18 sets played recently including a 15 dig and 14 kill performance against AIC on Sept. 14 and a 14 kill and 13 dig match against Dominican on Sept. 15.

MS. 3000
Senior Kimberly Lachowicz went over the 3,000 assist mark for her career during the match against Philadelphia on Sept. 8. She now has 3,516 in her career.

TIME TO SHINE FOR MCVEY
Lauren McVey managed to be at the top in kills and digs after the dust settled on Sept. 8 against Philadelphia. She totaled 15 kills and 17 digs to lead all student-athletes during the match.

BLOCK PARTY
Senior Syriah Celestine and junior Sarah Beres combined for a total of 14 block assists during a tri-match at Molloy on Sept. 8. Each recorded four block assists against Molloy, while Celestine managed four more block assists in the afternoon match against Philadelphia and Beres added two to her credit.

BERES PICKS UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
Junior Sarah Beres has recorded 216 kills in the first 18 outings this year. Beres' 46 blocks are also a team-high.

LATHROP HELPS LEAD THE CHARGE
Freshman Olivia Lathrop had a team-high .274 hitting percentage through the first 18 contests of the year. She posted at least seven kills in each of the first four matches for the Owls.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Through the first five matches of the season, a pair of Owls recorded three double-doubles. Senior Kimberly Lachowicz registered three straight double-doubles with 35 assists and 11 digs against Nyack, 47 assists and 10 digs against Queens and 40 assists and 14 digs against Georgian Court. Lauren McVey had 10 kills and 15 digs against Post, 11 kills and 13 digs against Nyack and 10 kills and 13 digs against Georgian Court.

THE CAPTAINS
Senior Kimberly Lachowicz and junior Sarah Beres will serve as captains for the Owls this season.

IN THE NE-10 PRESEASON POLLS
SCSU was selected 10th in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason poll, as voted by the league's coaches.

FARING WELL IN 2011
The Owls closed the 2011 season with a final mark of 19-11 overall and qualified for the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament for the second time in the last three years.

BERES COLLECTS AN ARRAY OF HONORS
Sophomore Sarah Beres was recognized on several fronts for her play during the 2011 campaign. She was named All-Region, All-ECAC and was an All-Northeast-10 Conference selection. She ranked among the league leaders in kills and blocks during the course of the year.

FOUR IN A ROW
Southern Connecticut posted its fourth consecutive winning season in 2011. It's the most consecutive winning seasons for SCSU since the 1978 campaign, when the Owls clinched their seventh consecutive winning season. Southern Connecticut has now combined to win 85 matches over the course of the past four years.

FARING WELL IN THE CLASSROOM
The Owls had eight student-athletes - Sarah Beres, Syriah Celestine, Chloe Dyke, Madison Featherston, Megan Hiss, Kimi Lachowicz, Megan Lyons, Lauren McVey and Vanessa Sullivan - named to the Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll for their work in the classroom during the 2011-12 academic year.

BARBARO COLLECTS WIN NO. 100
Head coach Lisa Barbaro earned her 100th career win on the Owls' sidelines in a victory over Georgian Court on Sept. 10.

IN THE NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
Southern Connecticut made its presence felt in the NCAA Regional rankings during the 2011 campaign and was ranked 10th in the final regular season rankings.

SULLIVAN GOES OVER 1,500 DIGS
Vanessa Sullivan collected her 1,000th career dig in a victory over Georgian Court on Sept. 10, 2011 and went over 1,500 back on Sept. 22. She now has 1,645 career digs.

LACHOWICZ DISHES IT OUT
Setter Kimberly Lachowicz posted a single-season best 1,087 assists during the 2011 season.

ON DECK
The Owls return to action on Oct. 16 when they travel to Pace for a scheduled 7 p.m. start.