When and Where: September 2, 2023 – Manchester, N.H. (Stan Spirou Field House)
Match 1 Score: Southern New Hampshire University 3, Georgian Court University 0
Match 2 Score: Southern New Hampshire University 3, Edinboro University 0
Records: SNHU 2-0, GCU 0-1, EU 1-1

Redshirt-senior Ana Pimenta (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) racked up a team-best 24 kills to lead the Southern New Hampshire University women's volleyball team to two wins Saturday at the Stan Spirou Field House. SNHU downed Georgian Court University, 3-0, in the first match and then came back to defeat Edinboro University in three sets.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Pimenta – 24 kills (4.00 k/s), .309 pct., 19 digs (3.17 d/s), 5 blocks (0.83 b/s)
• Junior Carmen Bernardis (Trieste, Italy) – 16 kills (2.67 k/s), .270 pct., 12 digs (2.00 d/s), 3 blocks (0.50 b/s)
• Graduate student Dai Thawnghmung (Lowell, Mass.) – 13 kills (2.17 k/s), 2 aces, 12 digs (2.00 d/s)
• Grad student Alessandra Peli (Brescia, Italy) – 12 kills (2.00 k/s), .364 pct., 6 aces, 8 blocks (1.33 b/s)

KEY MOMENTS – GEORGIAN COURT MATCH

• Southern New Hampshire trailed, 7-5, in the first set when it responded with a 14-5 run – led by two kills each from Pimenta and Peli, who also added a service ace – to open up a 19-12 advantage. Four straight from Georgian Court made it close before a pair of aces from junior Eyleen Dias (Plymouth, Mass.) powered a 5-0 stretch that bumped the lead to 24-16. 
• SNHU held a 13-12 edge in the second set when a pair of kills by Thawnghmung and another Peli ace led a 6-2 spurt that increased the lead to five. The margin was still five at 23-18 when GCU scored three of the next four to pull within 24-21. A Bernardis kill ended it for the Penmen.
• The Penmen led, 22-15, in the third frame, but the Lions would not go away, ripping off eight of the next 10 to climb back within 24-23. Following a timeout, SNHU received a kill from Thawnghmung that wrapped up the match.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – GEORGIAN COURT MATCH

• Set scores were 25-19, 25-21, 25-23.
• Bernardis recorded 11 kills (.450), seven digs and a pair of blocks.
• Pimenta also rattled off 11 kills (.280) to go with nine digs and two blocks.
• Thawnghmung collected seven kills, five digs and a pair of aces.
• Sophomore Ella Koelb (Auburn, N.H.) dished 30 assists, while adding eight digs, three blocks and two kills.
• Peli provided three kills, five aces and four blocks.
• Sophomore Alexandra Friebolin (Plant City, Fla.) added three kills and four blocks.
• Junior Deanne Wilson (Buffalo, N.Y.) collected seven digs.
• Dias chipped in two aces, a pair of assists and four digs.
• SNHU outhit GCU in the first and third sets, as well as .258-.177, overall.
• The Penmen held edges in aces (9-6) and blocks (8-6).

KEY MOMENTS – EDINBORO MATCH

• SNHU trailed, 24-23, in the opening set when a 3-0 rush – highlighted by a Peli ace – gave the Penmen a 1-0 lead in the match.
• The Penmen again faced a 24-23 deficit in the second set, with Pimenta rattling off three straight kills to help SNHU steal the set and take a commanding 2-0 advantage.
• The third stanza was knotted at 17-all when SNHU ripped off eight of the next 10 points to end the match. Pimenta recorded three kills during the stretch.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – EDINBORO MATCH

• Set scores were 25-24, 25-24, 25-19.
• Pimenta registered 13 kills (.333), 10 digs and three blocks.
• Peli posted nine kills (.615) and four blocks.
• Thawnghmung produced six kills and seven digs.
• Bernardis notched five kills and five digs.
• Wilson added 11 digs and four assists.
• Koelb dished 20 assists.
• Freshman Katalin Kovacs (Budapest, Hungary) collected 10 assists.
• SNHU outhit Edinboro in the first and third sets, as well as .206-.176 for the match.
• The Penmen owned a 7-1 advantages in aces, while blocks were even (6-6).

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire begins the season with a pair of three-set wins for the second straight season and the third time in the last five years.
• First-year head coach Braden Zamore, who entered 2023 with 222 career wins over 15 seasons, captures his first two victories with the Penmen.
• SNHU now leads the all-time series with Georgian Court, 3-1. This was the first meeting in Manchester and also the first, overall, since the Lions pulled out a five-set victory at home Sept. 10, 2016.
• SNHU evens the all-time series with Edinboro, 1-1. The Fighting Scots won the previous meeting, 3-0, at American International College on Sept. 16, 2017.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The Penmen are back at it Sunday (Sept. 3) when they play host to Southern Connecticut State University (11 a.m.) and Saint Michael's College (4 p.m.) at the Field House. Edinboro and Southern Connecticut will play a neutral-site match at 1:30 p.m.

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