NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Southern Connecticut volleyball defeated Assumption, 3-2 in a five-set battle in Pelz Gym on Friday, Oct. 10. The Owls improved to an overall record of 10-3 and got their first conference victory of the season while the Greyhounds dropped to an overall record of 4-14 and an NE10 record of 0-2.
Kimi Mitchell recorded her third straight double-double with a career-best of 44 assists and a career-best of 18 digs. Mitchell matched her career-best of eight kills and had two service aces against the Greyhounds.
Kerrigan Habing led the Owls with a team-best of 17 kills,
Sydney Bennett recorded 16 kills and
Sarah Stark had eight kills.
Sarah Henault had a career-best and team-best of 28 digs and
Ceci Carter had a career-best of 10 digs.
Sydney Bennett recorded a team-best of four blocks while
Elena Bianchi and
Sarah Stark had two blocks each.
Elena Bianchi had a career-best of two service aces and
Ceci Carter added an ace against Assumption.
In the first set, Assumption jumped to an early 7-2 lead that eventually turned into 11-6; however, the Owls fought back and had a a 7-0 run which was sparked by kills from Mitchell, Habing and Stark and good serving from
Ceci Carter, to take a 13-11 advantage. The teams worked hard back and forth for control as Southern worked to a 25-22 victory scoreline, with kills by Stark, Mitchell and Habing.
In the second set, the Greyhounds came through with momentum to take a lead in the first half of the set, as they worked their way to their largest lead of the day, 17-9. The Owls didn't go away as they got within six points of the Greyhounds' lead but Assumption finished with a second set victory of 25-19.
In the third set, both Assumption and Southern knew that the rest of the match would be a intense battle for victory. The momentum swung back and forth between the two teams as there were multiple lead changes and comebacks. The Owls came back from 14-11 and regained a 16-14 lead, with kills from Pascual and Habing. Assumption went on two runs of their own but Southern came back again to take a 25-21 lead and won the third.
In the fourth set, the Greyhounds continued to fight for points against the Owls. Southern got points on the board and reached a 23-10 lead. Nevertheless, Assumption stormed back and forced a fifth set, with a 27-25 scoreline.
In the fifth set, Southern started off with a 3-0 lead, with kills from
Katie Bardak,
Sydney Bennett and
Kerrigan Habing, all assisted by
Kimi Mitchell. After that, the Greyhounds worked to make a comeback and tied the match at 12-12 but the Owls took the lead again with kills from Bardak and Mitchell.
Sydney Bennett, who had four kills in the fifth set alone, hit the match-winning kill, which was assisted by Mitchell, to record a 15-13 scoreline and a 3-2 battle victory over Assumption, for their first conference win of the season and their sixth win in a row.
The Owls will return to NE10 action on Tuesday, Oct. 14 against Saint Michael's College at 5:00 pm in Pelz Gym.
