ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's volleyball team rallied from two sets down to force a fifth and deciding set, but ultimately suffered a 3-2 non-league loss to Saint Anselm College today in a match played at Roberts Wesleyan College. Daemen dropped to 13-7 on the year. St. Anselm, which is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, ran its winning streak to four-straight matches and improved to 13-7.

St. Anselm took the first two sets (25-21, 25-18), before the Wildcats answered with a 25-21 win in set three and a 25-22 win in set four. The Hawks claimed the match with a 19-17 win in set five.

Today's match marked just the second all-time meeting between the two programs, and both have taken place at a neutral court. The Wildcats prevailed in the first-ever meeting, 3-2, during the 2016 season in a match played at Mercy College. The Wildcats rallied from down two sets in that match as well.

HIGHLIGHTS

• A late rally by St. Anselm lifted the Hawks to a 25-21 win in set one. The set was back-and-forth throughout and St. Anselm held a 19-18 lead when the Hawks put together a 5-1 run to take a 24-19 lead. Daemen scored the next two points, but the Hawks closed out the set following a Daemen service error.
• The Hawks went up 2-0 following a 25-18 win in set two. St. Anselm held a 15-12 lead midway through the set after the Hawks took control with 6-1 run. Daemen came no closer than five points (22-17) down the stretch.
• Daemen jumped out to an 8-2 lead in set three and later took a 15-8 advantage following a kill by senior Meghan Ballou (Eden, N.Y.). The Daemen lead was still seven points (21-14) when the Hawks made things interesting with a 7-3 run, but Daemen closed out the set with a kill by junior Allison Post (Windsor, Calf.).
• Daemen held a 16-14 lead in set four when the Hawks opened up a 22-20 lead following an 8-4 run. Back-to-back kills by Ballou and sophomore Sam Logan (Eden, N.Y.) evened the set, and Daemen closed it out following back-to-back attack errors by St. Anselm and another kill by Logan.
• A 9-2 run gave the Hawks what appeared to be a commanding 13-8 lead in set five, but Daemen scored the next five points to even the set. Daemen later held match point at 15-14, 16-15 and 17-16, but the Wildcats could not register the final blow. Trailing 17-16, the Hawks benefited from a Daemen service error and back-to-back Daemen attack errors to win the match. 
• Post equaled her career-high for kills (22) and also registered a season-high 17 digs. Logan added 12 digs and a season-high 16 kills, while redshirt senior Courtney Bernard (Lancaster, Ohio) also reached double digits in digs with 10.
• Sophomore Hannah McKee (East Highland, Calf.) continued her solid play of late and finished with a career-high 52 assists and a career-high 15 digs. She has averaged 37 assists over the past five matches.
• Junior Ali Greenwood (North Aurora, Ill.) chipped in 17 digs and has now reached double digits in digs in 10- straight matches.
• Junior Elise Jolly paced the Hawks with 15 kills and five service aces. Freshman Caroline Belmontez added 18 digs, while fellow rookie Michelle Henwood totaled 37 assists and 13 digs. 

HEAD COACH STEPHANIE ALBANO POST-GAME COMMENTS
"I like our battle back from being down 0-2. We just couldn't find a way to finish the fifth set. We need to figure out who we are as a team and find ways to stay consistent and disciplined. When we do that it looks good, so we need to do it more often."

GAME NOTES

• Daemen held a 69-52 advantage in total kills, but the Wildcats committed 33 attack errors and finished with a .206 hitting percentage. The Hawks committed just three attack errors over the first two sets and finished with 19 attack errors and a .210 hitting percentage. Daemen also held a 63-47 edge in assists, while St. Anselm recorded twice as many service aces (12-6).
• The Wildcats are now 6-4 against all East Region opponents this season, but just 1-4 against those with a .500 record or better.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to East Coast Conference play Friday (Oct. 25) when they host league-leading Molloy College.

Daemen College features the only NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.