When and Where: September 14, 2024 – Wilmington, Del. (Wilmington University Athletics Complex)
Match 1 Score: Southern New Hampshire University 3, Thomas Jefferson University 1
Match 2 Score: Southern New Hampshire University 3, Holy Family University 0
Records: SNHU 2-5, TJU 3-5, HFU 2-4

Senior Julia Cavalcanti (Vineyard, Utah) submitted 18 kills on .432 hitting, as the Southern New Hampshire University women's volleyball team wrapped up the Wildcat Regional Invitational by collecting its first two wins of the season Saturday at Wilmington (Del.) University. The Penmen defeated Thomas Jefferson University, 3-1, in the morning, before blanking Holy Family University, 3-0, in the afternoon.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Cavalcanti – 18 kills, .432 hitting, 2 aces, 6 blocks, 7 digs
• Sophomore Angela Mateos (Seville, Spain) – 15 kills, 3 blocks, 3 digs
• Junior Caelan Cook (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) – 11 kills, 7 aces, 10 digs
• Freshman Addie Garn (Gilbert, Ariz.) – 54 assists, 19 digs, 4 aces, 4 blocks
• Senior Eyleen Dias (Plymouth, Mass.) – 24 digs, 7 assists
• Junior Laura Haas (Londonderry, N.H.) – 8 aces, 8 digs

KEY MOMENTS – JEFFERSON MATCH

• Jefferson led, 8-6, in the opening set when it used a 7-2 run to balloon its advantage to 15-8. An 8-2 spurt later made it 23-16.
• Southern New Hampshire led 6-5 in the second when it awoke with an 8-3 run – powered by a pair of kills from sophomore Elsa Gilmore (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) that stretched the margin to six (14-8). It was 14-10 when the Penmen ended the stanza with an 11-1 blitz, including the final eight points, to level the match, 1-1. Cavalcanti had five kills during the stretch.
• SNHU trailed 10-7 in the third before it reeled off six of the next seven, including two aces and a kill from Cook, to go on top, 13-11. It was 23-22 when a Gilmore kill and Jefferson attack error put the Penmen up, 2-1.
• Jefferson jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the fourth and still held a 12-10 advantage when SNHU captured 15 of the last 21 points to take the match. Mateos and sophomore Daya Jean-Baptiste (Miami, Fla.) buoyed the stretch with three kills each.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – JEFFERSON MATCH

• Set scores were 17-25, 25-11, 25-22, 25-18.
• Cavalcanti recorded 11 kills (.360), five blocks and five digs.
• Mateos posted 10 kills, two blocks and three digs.
• Gilmore notched nine kills and a pair of blocks.
• Jean-Baptiste added seven kills on .462 hitting.
• Cook tallied six kills, five aces and six digs.
• Garn collected another double-double with 29 assists, 15 digs, two aces and two blocks.
• Dias gathered 14 digs and six assists.
• Freshman Lailah Johnson (Senoia, Ga.) recorded eight digs and an ace.
• Haas added seven digs.
• SNHU outhit Jefferson in the final three sets, including .260-.142, overall.
• The Penmen held advantages in blocks (7-5) and aces (8-6).

KEY MOMENTS – HOLY FAMILY MATCH

• SNHU was ahead, 23-20, in the first frame when a Garn kill and Johnson service ace put it up, 1-0, in the match.
• The Penmen led, 14-12, in the middle stanza when they ripped off nine-in-a-row on five Holy Family errors and seized a 23-12 advantage.
• The Tigers were in front, 3-1, early in the third before SNHU responded with an 11-0 rush that gave it a commanding 12-3 lead. Haas turned in six aces during the stretch. It was 15-8 when three kills from graduate student Michaela Choate (Nashua, N.H.) and a pair of Cavalcanti aces made up the chunk of a 6-0 run that ballooned the margin to 13 at 21-8.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – HOLY FAMILY MATCH

• Set scores were 25-20, 25-15, 25-12.
• Cavalcanti had a team-high seven kills on .583 hitting, while serving up two aces and collecting a pair of digs.
• In just two sets, Choate totaled six kills on eight swings for a .625 hitting percentage.
• Cook tallied up five kills, two aces and four digs.
• Mateos also recorded five kills.
• Sophomore Jaelyn Miles (Manchester, N.H.) posted five kills and two blocks.
• Garn handed out 25 assists to go with two aces and four digs.
• Dias collected 10 digs.
• Haas registered eight aces.
• Jean-Baptiste recorded four kills (.571), two aces and a pair of blocks.
• Johnson chipped in three aces and five digs.
• SNHU outhit Holy Family in the final two sets, including .333-.110, overall.
• The Penmen also held an edge in both aces (19-10) and blocks (5-0).

NOTES

• SNHU leads the all-time series with Jefferson, 3-2, and has won three-in-a-row. All five meetings have come on a neutral floor. This was the first time the teams met since Sept. 11, 2015 (3-0).
• The Penmen lead the all-time series with Holy Family, 2-0. The previous meeting came Aug. 28, 2005 – a 3-1 SNHU win – at Shippensburg University.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The Penmen return to action for a tri-match at Assumption University on Saturday, Sept. 21. SNHU takes on the Greyhounds at 11 a.m., followed by Bloomfield College at 1:30 p.m.
• SNHU is back home Friday, Oct. 4 (6 p.m.) when it plays host to Bentley University at the Field House.

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