MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Southern New Hampshire volleyball team was defeated by a score of 3-2 to Bridgeport in non-conference action Friday evening. The Penmen are now 5-5, while the Purple Knights improve to 2-0.

SNHU jumped out to an early lead winning the first two sets by scores of 25-12 and 25-17. However, Bridgeport answered by winning the next three by scores of 25-23, 25-14, and 15-7.

Ashlee Daoust (Brookline, N.H.) and Emma Houlihan (Shoreham, N.Y.) tallied four and five kills respectively in the first set to power SNHU to victory. Daoust continued to trouble Bridgeport's defense in the second set as she totaled five more kills, and Nina McGouldrick (Richardson, Texas) added a set-high seven kills to the Penmen offense en route to the win. Catherine Cotton (Murphy, Texas) contributed 20 assists in the back-to-back wins.

Down 2-0, the Purple Knights answered in the third set jumping out to a quick 8-3 lead. However, SNHU fought back to tie the game at 14 apiece, and the teams traded the next seven points. Despite eliminating the five-point lead early in the set, the Penmen were unable to pull away, and Bridgeport connected on the final three points to force a fourth set.

Bridgeport took an early lead in the fourth game, and did not look back. The Penmen trailed the entire set despite a six-dig effort from Kendra Mikuta (Orland Park, Ill.), and the match was sent to a fifth deciding set.

The visitors seemed to have run away with the final set after taking a 10-3 lead. But after a Penmen timeout, SNHU answered with the next three points, cutting the deficit to four. A series of two kills and a service ace put Bridgeport in control again, and after a Daoust kill to make the score 14-7, the Purple Knights collected one last kill to make the comeback complete.

Daoust totaled a game-high 17 kills, while McGouldrick finished with 16. Cotton totaled a match-best 44 assists along with 11 digs. Maeghan Higgins (Hesperia, Calif.) added 16 digs to the defense, and Houlihan notched 13 kills for SNHU.

The Penmen return to action tomorrow when they open up Northeast-10 Conference play against Saint Michael's College at 1:00 p.m.

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