NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Southern New Hampshire University volleyball team spilt in a tri-match at Merrimack College Saturday afternoon against Post University and Dowling College. The Penmen are now 5-3 overall.

In the first match of the day, SNHU beat Post by a score of 3-0. Game scores were 25-20, 25-20, and 25-22.

Three different Penmen totaled double-digits in kills. Ashlee Daoust (Brookline, Mass.) and Kendra Mikuta (Orland Park, Ill.) each added 10, while Nina McGouldrick (Richardson, Texas) recorded a match-best 11 kills. Maeghan Higgins (Hesperia, Calif.) contributed 18 digs for the Penmen, while Catherine Cotton (Murphy, Texas) dished out 39 assists.

In the second match, SNHU was unable to hold onto a 1-0 lead, and lost to the Golden Lions by a score of 3-1. The Penmen defeated Dowling in the first set by a score of 25-19, but was defeated by scores of 25-16, 25-8, and 25-21 for the loss.

The first set was neck-and-neck until SNHU was able to pull away after hitting the 20-point mark. The Penmen scored five consecutive points to build a six-point lead, and after a Dowling kill to cut the deficit to five, McGouldrick ended the set with a kill to earn the win.

After falling behind 2-1, SNHU jumped out to an early lead in the fourth set. However, the 9-5 advantage was not enough, as Dowling crawled its way back into the set scoring four unanswered points to tie the game. The teams went back-and-forth for the next seven points, until the Penmen built another three-point cushion with the score at 20-17. But, a combination of SNHU errors along with Dowling service aces kept the Golden Lions in the set, and allowed them to score the next seven points. With the game at match-point (24-20), the Penmen showed one more push after a Daoust kill, but Dowling ended the match on a kill by Katarzyna Klocek to take the win.

McGouldrick totaled 12 kills in the match, while Cotton added 32 assists.

The Penmen return to action Tuesday, September 24 when they return home to host Merrimack College in a non-conference match at 7:00 pm.

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