When and Where: November 14, 2023 – Springfield, Mass. (Butova Gymnasium)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 3, American International College 2
Records: SNHU 13-11, AIC 16-10

Redshirt-senior Ana Pimenta (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) notched a double-double of 13 kills and 16 digs to lead the fifth-seeded Southern New Hampshire University women's volleyball team to a 3-2, upset victory against fourth-seeded American International College in the NE10 Championship quarterfinals Tuesday evening at Butova Gymnasium.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Pimenta – 13 kills, 2 aces, 16 digs, 6 blocks
• Graduate student Dai Thawnghmung (Lowell, Mass.) – 10 kills, 1 ace, 5 digs, 3 blocks
• Grad student Alessandra Peli (Brescia, Italy) – 6 kills, 9 blocks
• Junior Carmen Bernardis (Trieste, Italy) – 5 kills, 4 digs, 3 blocks
• Senior Claire Wohlleber (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) – 4 kills, career-high 10 blocks, 2 digs
• Freshman Angela Mateos (Seville, Spain) – 4 kills, 6 blocks, 4 digs
• Junior Deanne Wilson (Buffalo, N.Y.) – 25 digs
• Freshman Katalin Kovacs (Budapest, Hungary) – 18 assists, 1 ace, 14 digs

KEY MOMENTS

• Southern New Hampshire jumped out to an 8-2 led to begin the match, as Thawnghmung produced a pair of kills. AIC climbed back and were within 23-22, but a pair of errors gave SNHU the 1-0 lead.
• The Yellow Jackets held on to a 14-12 lead before it scored five straight to go up, 19-12. The Penmen would get as close as 24-20, but an error evened the match.
• American Int'l looked like it was going to take a 2-1 lead in the match when it led, 24-21, in the third, but three Peli kills led a 4-1 spurt that tied the score, 25-25. AIC would go in front, 26-25, but three straight errors completed the Penmen comeback, as the visitors took a 2-1 lead.
• The Yellow Jackets left no doubt in the fourth, as it led, 9-6, before scoring 16 of the final 23 points to force a deciding set.
• In the fifth, AIC moved out to a 4-1 lead and was ahead, 14-9, when SNHU staved off five straight match points, scoring six-in-a-row on five errors to go up, 15-14. After the Yellow Jackets tied it, a Pimenta kill gave the Penmen match point and they would advance on an AIC error.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Set scores were 25-22, 20-25, 28-26, 13-25, 17-15.
• Sophomore Ella Koelb (Auburn, N.H.) added 13 assists, an ace and eight digs.
• Junior Eyleen Dias (Plymouth, Mass.) chipped in five digs.
• After the teams were even in the first set, AIC outhit SNHU in the second and fourth sets, as well as .073-.037, overall.
• The Penmen owned a 20-13 advantage in blocks, while the Yellow Jackets held a 7-5 edge in aces.

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire snapped a two-game skid with the win and is 8-4 in its last 12.
• In its seventh appearance, including third straight, SNHU improves to 2-6 (.250) all-time in the NE10 Championship. The Penmen are now 1-1 against AIC, which scored a five-set victory over SNHU in the semifinals last season.
• The Penmen advance to the semifinals for the second time in program history and will meet top-seeded Adelphi University on Friday (Nov. (17) at a time that will be determined.
• American Int'l leads the all-time series, 20-8. It had won 13 of the last 17 meetings with the Penmen, including eight of the most recent nine, coming into the day. The victory snaps a five-game losing streak in the series for SNHU, which had also lost three-in-a-row at AIC. The last time the Penmen had won in the series was Oct. 19, 2018 in Springfield (3-2).

WHAT'S NEXT

• The fifth-seeded Penmen head to top-seeded Adelphi for the NE10 Championship semifinals Friday, Nov. 17.

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