Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Faced with three opportunities to win the opening game of its Northeast-10 Conference Tournament quarterfinal game against American International tonight, the Southern Connecticut State University volleyball team saw the host Yellow Jackets come back to take a 28-26 victory. The Owls' response – assemble a tremendous team effort to sweep the next three games and bounce No. 2 seeded AIC from the tournament and earn a spot in the semifinals at No. 6 Saint Anselm on Friday night.
 
TEAM RECORDS: SCSU (22-9) | AIC (21-10)
SET SCORES: 26-28, 25-17, 25-22, 25-19
 
KEY NOTES:
- The Owls advanced to the NE10 semifinals for the third time in program history (2009, 2012, 2017).
- The win over AIC was the second of the season. SCSU now has five wins against teams ranked in the current NCAA regional rankings this year.
- Alyssa Gage (Beverly Hills, Fla.) and Leanna Jadus (Long Beach, Calif.) each had 12 kills to lead the Owls. Jadus added 13 digs for her 21st double-double of the year. Gage added a game-high five blocks.
- With her first kill of the evening, Jadus set a new SCSU single-season record with her 395th kill of the year. 
- Gabriela Vazquez (Meriden, Conn.) posted her 17th double-double of the year with 11 kills and 22 digs, along with four blocks and four service aces.
- Alexandria Jurgens (Cornwall, N.Y.) registered 33 assists and 17 digs for her 13th double-double of the year.
- Five Owls finished with double-digit dig totals. Jillian Chambers (Shelby Township, Mich.) contributed 14 to go along with six kills . Anna Venard (Thornton, Colo.) registered 20 in the winning effort.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Game one was close affair early on before AIC pulled away in the middle portion of the frame. The Yellow Jackets had leads of 16-10, 17-12, 19-15 and 21-19 before the Owls scored consecutive points to get it back to even at 21-21. AIC tallied the next two, but SCSU answered with three straight for a game point opportunity. AIC tied it, and the Owls had two more chances to take the game before AIC scored three in a row for the 28-26 win.
- Trailing 9-7 in game two, the Owls rattled off five in a row to take a lead that it wouldn't relinquish. SCSU led by eight points on four occasions and won the game by that same margin.
- AIC stormed out in game three to score the first five points, but the Owls were there to answer again, scoring six straight to take the lead. The Owls' cushions stretched to as many as five, but AIC came all the way back to even the score at 21-21. SCSU responded by scoring four of the final five points to take a 2-1 advantage.
- Game four was close again in the early stages. With the match tied at 11-11, SCSU rolled off six straight points to eventually take the lead for good. AIC eventually got back within a point at 18-17, but a 7-2 spurt to end the game gave the Owls the game and the contest.

UP NEXT: vs. No. 6 seeded St. Anselm (at University of New Haven), Friday.