Saint Michael's slips in four sets to NE-10 foe Southern Connecticut State

COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team nearly took Southern Connecticut State University to five sets, dropping a 3-1 (25-14, 25-23, 21-25, 25-17) decision that included a two-point loss during one set on Saturday in the Ross Sports Center. The Purple Knights are now 14-13 overall and 3-7 in the Northeast-10 Conference, while the Owls improved to 18-7 and 7-4.

Junior Katie Walsh (North Kingstown, R.I./The Prout School) was among two Saint Michael's players to notch a double-double, collecting 11 kills and 16 digs. Sophomore setter Jess McLeod (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) turned in 36 assists and 16 digs. Junior Tracy Peterka (Newport Beach, Calif./Mater Dei) nearly provided a third double-double, tallying 12 kills and nine digs.

Sophomore Chelsey Covitz (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) had eight kills and five blocks, junior Courtney Dunne (Hopkinton, Mass./Bancroft School) added nine digs, and sophomore Lindsay Phenix (Tewksbury, Mass./Central Catholic) collected five blocks.

Sophomore Sarah Beres (Ellington, Conn./Ellington) led Southern Connecticut State with 14 kills, junior Kimberly Lachowicz (Mansfield, Texas/Mansfield) had 40 assists, and classmate Vanessa Sullivan (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) contributed 18 digs.

Covitz's kill brought her team within 9-7 in the opening set before the Owls pulled away on the strength of an 8-2 run, and the Purple Knights nearly knotted the match in the following set, playing through four ties. After trailing by a 21-15 count, the hosts used an 8-3 run, sparked by strong service from sophomore Brianna Saunders (Litchfield, N.H./Campbell), to make it 24-23. The Owls held on, notching the next point.

Saint Michael's pushed out to a 5-1 lead in the third set, and Dunne later served during the beginning of a run that gave her team its first 10-point lead, at 20-10. The Purple Knights clinched the set on a Walsh kill to bring the match score to 2-1. Saunders dropped a kill in the fourth set to help Saint Michael's creep to within 11-8 before Southern Connecticut State notched five straight points and began pulling away.

The Purple Knights hit the road for three NE-10 matches next week, beginning on Tuesday at Southern New Hampshire University at 7 p.m.