NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Kerrigan Habing hit a season-best .591 and Katie Bardak recorded a season-high eight kills to lead Southern Connecticut State University volleyball to a 3-0 sweep of Adelphi in a non-conference matchup at Pelz Gym. The win was Southern's third-straight victory as they improved to 7-2 on their home court.
Southern Connecticut (10-3) won 25-18, 25-16, 25-18 to hit .289 as a team while holding Adelphi (8-8) to .083. The Owls finished with advantages in kills (41-23), aces (10-5), assists (40-20) and digs (45-31) in front of 174 fans.
Habing led all players with 14 kills on 22 swings with just one error for a .591 hitting percentage, a season best. The junior outside hitter added two service aces, five digs and a block assist and finished with a match-high 16.5 points.
Bardak posted a season-high eight kills on 15 attempts to go with a block assist. She scored 8.5 points and added three digs.
Southern Connecticut controlled the match from the service line and at the net. Alyssa Ferreira led the Owls with four aces and added nine digs, while Sarah Henault had three aces and nine digs. Sydney Bennett paced the defense with five total blocks, including two solo, and added five kills on .400 hitting. Sarah Stark chipped in seven kills on .313 hitting and also had two blocks.
Setter Kimi Mitchell directed the offense with 31 assists and completed a double-double with 10 digs. She also had four kills on 10 error-free swings for .400 hitting, three total blocks and a solo block.
Southern Connecticut never trailed in the opening set after building an early lead. The Owls hit .333 in the first set with 15 kills against five errors and closed on a 7-0 run. Leading 18-18, SCSU got a kill from Bardak off a set from Henault, a kill from Habing from Mitchell, two Adelphi attack errors and back-to-back kills from Bardak and Stark to take the set 25-18.
The Owls were even more efficient in the second set, hitting .324 with 18 kills. After Adelphi tied the set at 9-9 on a block by Casey, SCSU pulled away behind Habing and Bardak. Bardak had three kills in the frame and Habing added four, including the set-clinching kill off Mitchell at 24-16. Henault sealed the 25-16 win with an ace.
The third set was tight until late. Adelphi tied it at 17-17, but Southern Connecticut answered with eight of the final nine points. Ferreira served the decisive stretch, recording two aces, forcing two Adelphi errors and getting a kill from Bennett off Mitchell to make it 22-17. Habing closed it with an ace and a block by Bennett ended it at 25-18.
For Habing, the .591 mark topped her previous season high and marked her 10th match in double figures this season. Bardak's eight kills surpassed her previous season high and came on her most efficient night since early September.
It will be a quick turnaround for the Owls as they host D'Youville on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 1 p.m. at Pelz Gym.
