NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Southern Connecticut State women's volleyball swept Pace University 3-0 — 25-7, 25-19, 25-17 — to clinch the No. 4 seed and a home match in the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference Tournament.
Southern Connecticut (16-7, 5-3 NE10) hit .354 as a team while holding Pace (10-12, 4-4 NE10) to .043. The Owls outkilled the Setters 41-26, out-blocked them 12-4 and recorded seven aces to three.
SCSU set the tone early with a dominant opening set. The Owls hit .542 with 14 kills and just one error on 24 swings, racing to a 25-7 win. Katie Bardak led the charge with five kills in the frame, while Sarah Stark and Sydney Bennett anchored a block that forced Pace into seven attack errors.
Kimi Mitchell paced the Owls with 27 assists, adding seven kills on .500 hitting, eight digs and two blocks for nine points. Mitchell spread the offense to five attackers with at least seven kills.
Kerrigan Habing led SCSU with 12 points on eight kills, two aces, three blocks and seven digs. Bardak finished with a match-high 10 kills on .474 hitting and 11.5 points, while Stark posted 11 points on seven kills, hitting .375, with a match-high seven blocks.
Bennett added 9.5 points on seven kills at .462, four blocks and two digs, and Sarah Henault contributed nine digs, six assists and an ace while directing the back row.
The turning point came late in the second set. Leading 18-16 after a Pace push, SCSU closed on a 7-3 run fueled by kills from Marisabelle Sias, Bennett and Mitchell and a block from Habing and Stark to take the set 25-19.
In the third, Pace jumped to an early 4-1 lead before the Owls responded. Trailing 11-9, Southern ripped off six straight points behind Victoria Pascual's serve. Pascual, who had two aces in the match, sparked the surge that included two Bardak kills and a block from Bardak and Stark.
SCSU never trailed again. Habing closed with back-to-back aces to make it 21-16, and Stark and Bennett finished at the net for the 25-17 clincher.
Southern returns to action on Friday, Nov. 6 when it hosts Franklin Pierce for Senior Night at 5 PM at Pelz Gym.
