MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Southern New Hampshire University volleyball team grinded out a 3-2 win over Southern Connecticut State University Friday evening in Northeast-10 Conference play in its Dig Pink game. The Penmen improve to 9-8 overall and 4-3 in the conference, while the Owls are now 13-8 and 3-5 in league play.

After dropping the first set by a score of 25-22, the Penmen climbed their way back into the game taking the second and third sets by scores of 26-24, and 25-17. The Owls evened the match up at two sets apiece after winning the fourth set by a score of 28-26, but SNHU answered big in the final frame taking a 15-9 win.

Trailing the visitors 1-0, the Penmen took an early 10-6 lead in the second set to force an Owls' timeout. After the break, SNHU continued to build its lead while scoring the next four out of seven points to gain a five-point advantage over Southern. However, the Owls answered scoring four consecutive points to cut the deficit to one, and the team traded points for the remainder of the set. Tied up at 24-24, the Penmen connected on back-to-back kills by Megan Salamun (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Ashlee Daoust (Brookline, N.H.) to take the win.

The third set was all Penmen as the hosts jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Nina McGouldrick (Richardson, Texas) was responsible for five kills and helped SNHU to a nine point lead late in the game to take a 2-1 lead over the Owls.

Southern Connecticut fought back in the fourth set as the teams went back-and-forth trading points. The set was a one-point game until the 17-17 mark when the Owls pulled away with a three-point push to make it 20-17. However, SNHU answered scoring the next four points and taking its first lead of the game at 21-20. Neither team seemed to back down as there were three lead changes and four ties in the final five points of the set. Southern finally was able to pull away from SNHU to force a fifth deciding set after back-to-back Penmen service errors.

Southern New Hampshire controlled most of the final set forcing the Owls to take a timeout after scoring five consecutive points to take a 7-2 lead. The Penmen led by as many as eight, and an Emma Houlihan (Shoreham, N.Y.) kill secured the win at 15-9.

Houlihan totaled a game-best 16 kills in the win, along with three blocks. McGouldrick added 12 kills and 15 digs, while Daoust tallied 13 kills. Maeghan Higgins (Hesperia, Calif.) led the Penmen defense with 33 digs, and Catherine Cotton (Murphy, Texas) dished out a game-high 52 assists.

The Penmen return to action tomorrow when they host American Int'l College for a 1:00 pm league game.

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