MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Southern New Hampshire volleyball team defeated Saint Anselm by a score of 3-1 Tuesday evening in Northeast-10 Conference play. With the win, the Penmen improve to 7-5 overall and 2-0 in the league, while the Hawks fall to 4-8, and 0-2 in conference play.

Game scores were 25-20, 20-25, 25-14, and 25-14.

Four Nina McGouldrick (Richardson, Texas) kills were the difference in the first set as the Penmen took an early lead and ran with it. SNHU did not trail once in the frame, and led the Hawks by as many as seven points to take a 1-0 lead.

However, the second set was in Saint Anselm's favor, as the visitors took an early lead and built on it. The Penmen could not find an answer as the Hawks put together a 17-7 lead. Despite outscoring the Hawks 13-8 for the rest of the set, the ten-point deficit was too much, and the teams were tied at one game apiece heading into the third game.

Megan Salamun (Scottsdale, Ariz.) led SNHU to a third set victory while compiling five kills on top of a block. Three consecutive Salamun kills gave the hosts a quick 4-1 lead, and the Penmen led Saint Anselm for the remainder of the set to take a 2-1 lead.

The final set was back-and-forth as the teams traded the first 14 points of the frame. However, SNHU was able to pull away taking an 11-6 lead on back-to-back Hawk's attack errors. Saint Anselm fought back into the set scoring three consecutive points to cut the deficit to two, but an Emma Houlihan (Shoreham, N.Y.) kill sparked another Penmen run, and SNHU ran away with the victory.

Salamun and McGouldrick each totaled 11 kills en route to the win for the Penmen, while Catherine Cotton (Murphy, Texas) dished out a match-high 38 assists. Defensively, Maeghan Higgins (Hesperia, Calif.) added 26 digs, and McGouldrick contributed 12.

The Penmen return to action Saturday, October 5, when they travel to Assumption College for a conference match at 12:00 p.m.

For the latest on Southern New Hampshire University athletics, follow the Penmen via social media on Twitter (@snhupenmen), Facebook(www.facebook.com/snhupenmen), Youtube (www.youtube.com/snhupenmen) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/snhupenmen).