WORCESTER, Mass. – Southern Connecticut volleyball defeated Felician University and Assumption University, 3-1 on Saturday afternoon in their last tri-match of the season. The Owls improved to an overall record of 7-3, the Golden Falcons dropped to 3-8 and Assumption dropped to 3-10.
Kerrigan Habing recorded her third double-double of the season with a career-best of 20 kills and 10 digs against the Greyhounds.
Kimi Mitchell recorded a total of 68 assists for the day, with a career-best of 42 assists against the Greyhounds, after she previously had a career-best of 26 assists against the Golden Falcons.
MATCH ONE: SCSU 3, FELICIAN 1
Sydney Bennett led the Owls with 10 kills and three blocks;
Kerrigan Habing had nine kills while
Sarah Stark had eight kills.
Sarah Henault recorded a team-best of four service aces and 17 digs.
Kimi Mitchell totaled 26 assists against the Golden Falcons. Habing and Stark both had two blocks, while Pascual and Habing both had two service aces.
In the first set, it was a close, back and forth battle between the two teams. However, the Owls began to pull away with a 14-6 lead. The Golden Falcons worked their way back to tie the match, 23-23 but with kills by
Sarah Stark and
Sydney Bennett, Southern won the first set, 25-23.
In the second set, Felician jumped to a quick 8-2 lead over Southern. The Owls put some points back on the board, but the advantage stayed in the favor of the Golden Falcons. Southern found their momentum and went on a seven-point run, with a series of service aces by
Sarah Henault, a kill by Habing and attack errors from Felician, to take the lead, 16-15. The Golden Falcons didn't go away as they battled back to finish out the set with a 25-20 victory.
In the third set, momentum swung between both Felician and Southern as each team fought for control of the match. The Owls found their rhythm as they took a 17-9 lead, with two service aces by
Victoria Pascual, a kill by
Sarah Stark and a kill by
Sarah Henault. Felician did their best to make a comeback; nonetheless, a four-point run which featured kills by Pascual, Stark,
Dylan Marney and a service ace by
Emily Sartell, helped the Owls win 25-16 and clinch their second set of the match.
In the fourth set, Southern worked their way to a 7-3 advantage over Felician. The Golden Falcons tried to regain their momentum as they tied the match at 19-19. The Owls fought back with a kill from
Jaiden Binning and forced two attack errors from Felician, to take a 22-19 lead. With a forced attack error and then, a kill by
Sydney Bennett and an assist by
Kimi Mitchell, the Owls won the fourth set, 25-22 and won the match, 3-1 over Felician.
MATCH TWO: SCSU 3, ASSUMPTION, 1
Kerrigan Habing recorded a career-best of 20 kills and totaled 10 digs, to notch her third double-double of the season.
Katie Bardak had nine kills while
Sydney Bennett had seven kills.
Kimi Mitchell totaled a career-best of 42 assists against the Greyhounds.
Sarah Henault had a team-best of 21 digs and
Victoria Pascual had 15 digs. Henault had a career-high of seven service aces while Pascual added three and
Dylan Marney added one.
Sydney Bennett had a team-best of three blocks, Habing had two and Pascual had one against Assumption.
In the first set, both teams knew it would a competitive match with a back and forth battle for the lead. Assumption grew their lead to 23-17 but the Owls did not give up. With kills from
Katie Bardak and
Kerrigan Habing and attack errors from the Greyhounds, Southern tied the match, 23-23; however, Assumption finished out the set, 25-23.
In the second set, the Greyhounds continued with their strong momentum from the first as they jumped to a 14-7 advantage. The Owls worked to make a comeback while Assumption attempted to grow their lead as Southern found a way to get their points back. With kills from Bennett and Pascual and assists by Mitchell, the Owls tied the match, 20-20. The Greyhounds regained the lead, 22-20; nonetheless, Southern finished out the set with four unanswered points with kills from Habing and Bardak and a service ace from Pascual, to finish the set, 25-22.
In the third set, the Owls worked quickly to take a 5-1 lead, with back-to-back aces by Pascual. Assumption responded with a comeback of their own. Southern had the momentum as they started to pull away, with their largest lead of the match, 22-11, due to kills from Habing, Bennett, Mitchell, Pascual and
Jaiden Binning. The Greyhounds added four points but Mitchell and Pascual recorded kills to clinch the third set, 25-15, for the Owls.
In the fourth set, the Owls continued to use their momentum to take a early, 8-1 advantage. Assumption worked to regain the lead as they got within one point of the Owls. Nevertheless, Southern stayed in control to extend their lead and finished out the set, 25-18 over Assumption.
The Owls will return to Pelz Gym on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 5:00 p.m. against non-conference opponent, Dominican University of New York.
