Opening the Northeast 10 tournament with authority, Southern Connecticut State swept Saint Anselm 3-0 at Pelz Gym, relying on 15 kills from Kerrigan Habing and a .268 team hitting percentage.
According to Southern Connecticut State University Athletics, the Owls managed an early slow period alongside 11 opening-set attack errors to weather a competitive, back-and-forth duel prior to breaking away in the closing stages. The team won set scores of 26-24, 25-14, and 25-18 to improve to 18-7 overall, according to Southern Connecticut State University Athletics.
Habing led all players with 15 kills on 35 swings, hitting .314 while adding three service aces, 11 digs, and a block for a match-high 18.5 points. Sydney Bennett contributed 13 total points behind 10 kills and five blocks while recording a .273 hitting percentage, Katie Bardak notched eight kills with a .368 success rate, Sarah Stark put up seven kills and five blocks, and Marisabelle Sias came off the bench to record seven kills while hitting .462.
Floor general Kimi Mitchell orchestrated the attack by logging 40 assists, 10 digs, three blocks, and a service ace, contributing to the team’s totals of 48 kills and 47 assists. Sarah Henault led the back row with 14 digs, and Alyssa Ferreira joined Habing with 11 digs each, holding Saint Anselm to .092 hitting as the opponent finished its season at 14-10.
The opening set featured 10 ties and five lead changes. Saint Anselm built a 14-13 lead on a three-point run, but Southern Connecticut answered with Habing’s ace and consecutive kills from Bennett to take a 20-16 lead.
The Hawks rallied to tie it at 20-20, and again at 23 and 24, before Stark gave her team set point with a kill from Mitchell. Stark and Mitchell combined to close the set 26-24 on Stark’s second straight kill.
The momentum carried directly into the second set. Southern Connecticut hit .429 in the frame with 15 kills and no errors, limiting Saint Anselm to .024.
Following a 2-0 deficit to start, the Owls reeled off four consecutive points on Henault’s serve and back-to-back kills by Bardak; a block by Ferreira and Habing pushed the advantage to 9-4, and Sias alongside Bennett stretched the gap to 12-5 before a 13-5 closing burst secured a 25-14 set victory courtesy of a Stark block.
The third set was tied 7-7 before Southern Connecticut pulled away for good. Ferreira’s ace made it 4-3, and Habing delivered back-to-back points with a kill and an ace to push the lead to 17-11. Down the stretch, Stark and Habing joined forces for three kills, and Bennett utilized a feed from Mitchell to register the final kill that clinched the 25-18 sweep.
The Owls finished with advantages in kills at 48-31, blocks at 10-6, and digs at 56-53. The squad also limited its errors drastically after the first set, committing just three attack errors in the final two sets combined.
Entering the tournament as one of the league’s hottest teams with wins in five of their last six matches, the Owls went 6-3 in conference play during the regular season and are seeking their first NE10 championship since 2018. Looking ahead to the next round, the Owls face tournament top seed Bentley in the NE10 semifinals on Friday, Nov. 13, at 5 p.m. in Waltham, Massachusetts.
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