When and Where: September 9, 2023 – Duluth, Minn. (Romano Gymnasium)
Match 1 Score: Michigan Technological University 3, Southern New Hampshire University 0
Match 2 Score: #7 University of Minnesota Duluth 3, Southern New Hampshire University 1
Records: SNHU 5-3, MTU 2-5, UMD 7-1

Redshirt-senior Ana Pimenta (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and graduate student Dai Thawnghmung (Lowell, Mass.) combined for 45 kills, including 29 when they gave the seventh-ranked University of Minnesota Duluth all it could handle in a four-set loss, as the Southern New Hampshire University women's volleyball team closed out its time at the Up North Preseason Tournament with a pair of defeats Saturday at Minnesota Duluth's Romano Gymnasium. The Penmen dropped a 3-0 decision to Michigan Technological University and then pushed UMD in the nightcap, but fell, 3-1.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Pimenta – 24 kills (3.43 k/s), 6 digs (0.86 d/s), 4 blocks (0.57 b/s)
• Thawnghmung – 21 kills (3.00 k/s), 20 digs (2.86 d/s), 3 blocks (0.43 b/s)
• Junior Carmen Bernardis (Trieste, Italy) – 13 kills (1.86 k/s), 4 digs (0.57 d/s), 6 blocks (0.86 b/s)
• Junior Deanne Wilson (Buffalo, N.Y.) – 39 digs (5.57 d/s), 5 assists (0.71 a/s)
• Freshman Katalin Kovacs (Budapest, Hungary) – 33 assists (4.71 a/s), 14 digs (2.00 d/s)
• Sophomore Ella Koelb (Auburn, N.H.)  – 27 assists (4.50 a/s), 2 aces, 9 digs (1.50 d/s)

KEY MOMENTS – MICHIGAN TECH MATCH

• Two Pimenta kills and an ace from Kovacs staked Southern New Hampshire to a 6-0 lead to begin the match. The SNHU advantage was 18-13 with Michigan Tech reeled off the final 10 points of the set as part of a 12-1 blitz that put the Huskies up, 1-0, in the match.
• SNHU held a 4-3 edge in the middle stanza, but an 11-1 rush from MTU put it on top, 14-5, and the Penmen would not get closer than eight the rest of the set.
• The Penmen trailed, 19-11, in the third, but used a 6-1 run – sparked by kills from senior Claire Wohlleber (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Pimenta – to pull within 20-17. It was 24-19 later in the set when three straight points climbed SNHU to within 24-22, but an MTU kill ended it.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – MICHIGAN TECH MATCH

• Set scores were 25-19, 25-12, 25-22.
• Pimenta recorded 10 kills, four digs and a pair of blocks.
• Thawnghmung registered six kills and nine digs.
• Bernardis posted five kills and three blocks.
• Wilson collected 17 digs.
• Graduate student Alessandra Peli (Brescia, Italy) racked up five blocks.
• Kovacs tallied 12 assists and five digs.
• Koelb dished 11 assists.
• Wohlleber added three kills on .750 hitting.
• Junior Chiara Di Valerio (Terni, Italy) chipped in five digs and an ace.
• MTU outhit SNHU in all three sets, as well as .230-.079, overall.
• The Huskies owned advantages in aces (3-2) and blocks (10-6).

KEY MOMENTS – MINNESOTA DULUTH MATCH

• SNHU trailed, 24-21, in the opening set, but did not quit. Three straight kills from Pimenta, one from Bernardis and an attack error made up a 5-0 run that put the Penmen up, 1-0, in the match.
• UMD scored the first five points of the second set and jumped out to a 17-6 lead. SNHU would not get closer than 10 the rest of the way, as the Bulldogs evened the match.
• SNHU was again facing a large deficit in the third at 24-16, but took advantage of four attack errors as part of a 5-0 spurt that made it 24-21. The Penmen would not recapture the magic from the first set, however, as a UMD kill put the hosts up, 2-1.
• The Bulldogs looked like they would put the match away with a 23-21 lead in the fourth, but a kill from Thawnghmung and a Pimenta ace sparked a run of three straight points that put the Penmen in front, 24-23. The teams would find themselves knotted at 24, 25, 26 and 27 before a pair of SNHU attack errors gave UMD the victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – MINNESOTA DULUTH MATCH

• Set scores were 24-26, 25-11, 25-21, 29-27.
• Thanwghmung notched a double-double of 15 kills (.279), 11 digs, three blocks and an ace.
• Pimenta added 14 kills, two blocks and an ace.
• Bernardis recorded eight kills, three blocks and three digs.
• Wilson collected 22 digs.
• Kovacs registered 21 assists and nine digs.
• Koelb added 16 assists, seven digs and a pair of aces.
• Sophomore Alexandra Friebolin (Plant City, Fla.) chipped in two kills and six blocks.
• Freshman Jaelyn Miles (Manchester, N.H.) contributed four kills.
• UMD outhit SNHU in the second and third sets, as well as .235-.142 for the match.
• Aces were even at six a piece, while the Bulldogs held a narrow 12-10 edge in blocks.

NOTES

• At 5-3, Southern New Hampshire is one game off the pace from the 2022 team's start to the season.
• This was SNHU's first all-time meeting with both Michigan Tech and Minnesota Duluth.
• Pimenta was named to the Up North All-Tournament Team, finishing the four matches with 43  kills (3.31 k/s), 12 digs (0.92 d/s), seven blocks (0.54 b/s) and two aces.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The Penmen are back in action Tuesday, Sept. 19 (7 p.m.) when they take on in-state rival Franklin Pierce University.
• The next home match for SNHU is Tuesday, Sept. 26 (7 p.m.) when it plays host to Bentley University at the Stan Spirou Field House.

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