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Hawks lock up top seed with sweep of UNE


Box Score

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Roger Williams University got a combined 21 kills from first-year Sarah McAniff and sophomore Elizabeth Flaherty on the way to a 3-0 triumph over the University of New England in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) regular-season finale for women's volleyball on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 2) at the Harold Alfond Forum. Set scores were 25-16, 25-13, and 25-11.

The Hawks (28-3, 7-1 CCC) will be the No. 1 seed with a first-round bye in the upcoming conference tournament, which begins Tuesday. The Nor'easters (14-9, 5-3 CCC) are slated to be in action that night as the No. 4 seed, hosting fifth-seeded Western New England University at 7 p.m.

McAniff finished with nine digs on top of her 11 winners, while Flaherty went for 10 kills, eight digs, and five block assists. Senior Krystie Luczynski was also very active on the front line, registering eight kills, five service aces, and three points on blocks (1 solo, 4 assist). First-year Brittany McMullen contributed seven kills for the attack, which was guided by sophomore Nicole Weber with 24 assists.

Big Blue was paced by senior Angie Brunette with seven kills. Classmate Maria Kuehl dished out 14 assists to go with 16 digs, and fellow senior Kirsta Adie added eight digs.

After a slow start in the opening set, a 9-2 run in the middle gave the visitors control. RWU stayed hot right into the second frame, building a 12-1 cushion on the way to doubling up the hosts. A 10-0 spurt during the initial portion of the third stanza, breaking a 4-4 tie, all but sealed the match.