New Haven, Conn (October 7) -- The Assumption College volleyball team suffered a narrow loss to Southern Connecticut  after nearly rebounding from a 2-0 deficit on Tuesday evening on the road. Freshman Stephanie Hawley (Savannah, Ga. / St. Vincent's Academy) notched her fourth double-double of the season, leading the Hounds with 10 kills and 13 digs.

With the loss, Assumption drops to 3-9 overall (1-4 NE-10), while Southern Connecticut improves to 5-11 (2-3 NE-10).

The Owls jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two straight 25-17 set wins before the Hounds rallied in the third set to top Southern Connecticut 25-16. The Owls claimed the fourth set by a narrow 26-24 margin to take the match.

The Hounds kicked off set three with a 3-0 lead including a kill by junior Tara Reilly (Northport, N.Y. / Northport) and a service ace by junior Courtney Bagwell (Diamond Bar, Calif. / Diamond Bar). The Owls followed with a four-point rally, to tie the set before the Hounds went on a 5-0 run of their own to take a commanding lead, sparked by a kill from Hawley.

The squads battled throughout the remainder of the third set with Southern Connecticut getting no closer than three before the Hounds closed on a 5-0 run to take the win.

Southern Connecticut got out to a quick 4-0 lead at the start of the fourth, followed promptly by a 4-0 Greyhound run to tie the score. After trading points throughout the set, Assumption got out to a 20-16 lead in what looked to be another win for the Hounds that would push the teams to five, before an 8-3 run by the Owls evened the score at 24 apiece. Southern Connecticut's Natasha Carlbert tallied the last two kills to seal the victory for the Owls, 26-24.

Hawley led the Hound offense, followed by Reilly who posted eight kills and led the team with three blocks. Freshman Kiki Romanik (San Rafael, Calif. / Sir Francis Drake) tallied 32 assists and 13 digs while Bagwell led the squad with 18 digs. 

Assumption was effective on 38 of 157 kill attempts for a .076 kill percentage, compared to 53 of 156 (.160) for the Owls.

The Hounds are set to return to action at home on Saturday, Oct. 11, as they face off against conference opponent Saint Michael's (5-6, 0-4 NE-10) at 2 p.m.

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