NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Southern Connecticut volleyball swept a pair of matches against Chestnut Hill College and The College of Saint Rose at Pelz Gymnasium. With the wins, the Owls moved to 3-1 on the season, while the Griffins fell to 0-2 and the Golden Knights fell to 1-2.

Game 1: Southern Connecticut 3, Chestnut Hill 0

Set Scores
Set 1: SCS 25, CHE 21
Set 2: SCS 25, CHE 18
Set 3: SCS 25, CHE 22

• Gabriela Gaibur (Monroe, N.Y.) led the charge and all players in game one against Chestnut Hill with 16 kills including the match deciding point. She swung for .444 and tacked on eight digs, two service aces, and a block. Taylor Jones (Middletown, N.Y.) recorded 23 assists, while chipping in five digs, and two service aces. Sara Enright (Yorba Linda, Calif.) recorded 10 digs and seven kills, while Payton Reis (West Palm Beach, Fla.) recorded four blocks.
• The first set saw both teams battle back-and-forth. At a 10-10 deadlock, Chestnut Hill grabbed two points and the lead before the Owls rattled off five-straight points, three of which came from errors on the Griffins. The tug continued as both sides grappled with the lead, but the Owls late push with five-straight points, three courtesy of Gaibur, closed out the set.
• Set two was another tight affair to start. After an 8-8 lock, the Owls picked up three-straight points with an error on Chestnut Hill and two Aubrey Villena service aces. The Griffins attempted a comeback, but the Owls kept them only within two points of their lead. With the score 18-16, Southern powered to a 7-2 run to close out set two.
• Chestnut Hill came out strong in the third set and led by as many as three points. Southern rallied on a quiet 6-2 run and three Gaibur kills to put them in the lead, 12-11. Back-and-forth efforts occurred once again, but the Owls made another push and outscored the Griffins, 8-5, to close out the match and secure the sweep.

 
Game 2: Southern Connecticut 3, Saint Rose 0

Set Scores
Set 1: SCS 25, STR 12
Set 2: SCS 25, STR 19
Set 3: SCS 25, STR 17

• Gabriela Gaibur led all players once again in game two with 12 kills on .385 hitting. Sara Enright recorded a double-double of 11 digs and 10 kills, while Taylor Jones had 23 assists. Payton Reis continued her defensive streak with four blocks and Aubrey Villena (San Diego, Calif.) notched seven service aces in the match.
• Southern came out firing in the second game of the day. At 5-5, the Owls ignited for a 12-1 run that gave them a 10-point lead. Saint Rose's attempts to claw their way back in were halted as the Owls outscored them 9-6 and capped set one with a 13-point victory.
• Saint Rose found a groove in set two and led the Owls by four midway through, 10-6. Southern picked up four quick points to tie it. Both teams grappled with the lead, but the Owls took it away with a 7-1 run to all but seal the set two victory.
• The Owls were on fire to begin the third set with an enormous 11-2 run to start. Saint Rose would not go away quietly and clawed their way back to get within three of the Owls, 12-9. A 6-1 run behind solid serving from Kyle Greenberg (El Sobrante, Calif.) gave the Owls an eight-point lead. Despite level scoring the remainder of the set, the Golden Knights could not withstand Southern's offense as the Owls went on to grab the sweep in game two.

Notes

• Gabriela Gaibur has recorded double-digit kills in all four games.
• Sara Enright has three double-doubles in four games to start the season.
• Payton Reis has picked up 15 blocks in the first four games of the season.
• Taylor Jones has 20-or-more assists in all four games this season and amassed 88 total assists.

 
Up Next
The Owls' home stand continues on Tuesday, August 30 when they host Caldwell University in non-conference action at Pelz Gymnasium. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.