BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Women's Volleyball team had their first home match victory Tuesday, beating Emmanuel College 3-1. After dropping the first set, RWU rallied to take sets two through four, 26-24, 25-22 and 25-21, respectively.

Head Coach Bret Stothart was particularly impressed with the team's performance with Senior Captain Kristina Dolan Glenmont, N.Y.) not in play. He stated, “Our team stepped up without her and played well as a team.”

After a close first game that saw three ties, the Saints took the first game of the match 25-14. The Hawks rebuilt their confidence during the break “after a slow start,” claimed Coach Stothart, coming back tough to take the second game 26-24 after being down 20-24.  With the match tied at 1-1, the Hawks took the early 6-5 lead in game three and stayed ahead the rest of the way, building a 24-17 lead before finishing with the 25-22 win.

In the last game of the match, the Hawks led most of the way, taking a modest 23-19 lead  for the match. The Saints mounted a brief comeback, including an ace by Nicole McAllister (Hampden, Maine) that was headed out until it mistakenly hit a Hawk foot, leaving the Saints with a point in their favor and the score of 23-21. Yet two points later the Hawks attained the triumphant score of 25-21.

The team totaled 42 kills in the match led by freshman Kelsey Twarog (Barkhamsted, Conn.) who led the team with 11 on the night. Junior Jill Hurd (Sunapee, N.H.) had the game high 19 digs out of the overall 53. Meanwhile, TCCC Rookie of the Week, Emily Lebowitz (Coventry, Conn.), dished out a match-high 37 assists.

Rebecca Stanton (Quincy, Mass.) led the Saints with 11 kills, while Kathryne Olsen (Fairhaven, Mass.) added 32 assists. Jenna Ross (Centerburg, Ohio) and Samantha Andazola (Queen Creak, Ariz.) tied for the team high with 12 digs apiece.

The Hawks (2-4) will be back in action this Saturday, September 12, in the Roger Williams University Invitational. Three matches will be played, 11 a.m. against Rivier College, 1 p.m. versus NYU-Polytechnic, and at 3 p.m. versus the University of New England. Emmanuel will be back to play Friday, September 11, in the Endicott Invitational Tournament at 4 p.m. in Beverly, Massachusetts.