When and Where: November 30, 2023 – Garden City, N.Y. (Center for Recreation and Sport)
Score: Bentley University 3, Southern New Hampshire University 2
Records: SNHU 13-13, Bentley 23-6
Redshirt-senior Ana Pimenta (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) notched a double-double of 13 kills and 10 digs, but the sixth-seeded Southern New Hampshire University women's volleyball team saw its season draw to a close in the NCAA East Regional Championship quarterfinals with a 3-2 defeat against third-seeded Bentley University on Thursday at Adelphi University's Center for Recreation and Sport.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Pimenta – 13 kills, 10 digs, 2 blocks
- Senior Claire Wohlleber (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) – 8 kills (.333), 4 blocks, 3 digs
- Graduate student Dai Thawnghmung (Lowell, Mass.) – 6 kills, 3 aces, 3 digs, 1 block
- Grad student Alessandra Peli (Brescia, Italy) – 6 kills, 3 blocks
- Junior Deanne Wilson (Buffalo, N.Y.) – 22 digs, 1 ace
- Freshman Katalin Kovacs (Budapest, Hungary) – 14 assists, 2 aces, 11 digs
- Freshman Madi Roar (Olive Hill, Ky.) – 15 assists, 2 aces, 7 digs
KEY MOMENTS
- Two kills from Pimenta helped Southern New Hampshire jump out to a 6-1 lead to begin the match. Bentley was within 13-12 when a 9-2 burst – powered by a pair of Thawnghmung aces – put the Penmen in the driver's seat at 22-14. The Falcons would only get as close as six the rest of the stanza.
- Bentley was ahead, 18-16, in the second set and ripped off seven of the final nine points to even the match, 1-1.
- The back-and-forth third set was tied at 24-all, before kills from Thawnghmung and Wohlleber provided SNHU with a 2-1 edge in the match.
- The Penmen trailed, 14-13, in the fourth when the Falcons used a 7-2 spurt to go up, 21-15, and SNHU would only get to within five the remainder of the frame.
- Bentley staked claim to an 8-2 lead to start off the deciding set, before SNHU countered with a 5-1 run that pulled it to within 9-7. The Falcons would tally up six of the final eight points, however, to take the win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Set scores were 17-25, 25-18, 24-26, 25-19, 15-9.
- Junior Carmen Bernardis (Trieste, Italy) tallied five kills, two blocks and a pair of digs.
- Freshman Angela Mateos (Seville, Spain) posted four kills, three blocks and seven digs.
- Junior Eyleen Dias (Plymouth, Mass.) collected 11 digs.
- Bentley outhit SNHU in the second, fourth and fifth sets, as well as .191-.110, overall.
- The Penmen held advantages in blocks (9-6) and aces (8-6).
NOTES
- In its second appearance, Southern New Hampshire, the defending NCAA East Region Champions, dips to 3-2 (.600) all-time in the NCAA postseason, including 1-1 versus Bentley. The sixth-seeded Penmen defeated the third-seeded Falcons, 3-1, in the NCAA East Regional quarterfinals last season in Springfield, Mass.
- Bentley has won 13 of the last 16 meetings, including eight of the last 10 and three straight. The Falcons also won the two regular-season meetings against the Penmen on Sept. 23 (3-0) and Sept. 26 (3-1).
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