KEENE, N.H.  10/18/08 - The Keene State women's volleyball team reached the 20-win mark for the third consecutive year with a pair of wins at the inaugural Little East-New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Challenge held at Spaulding Gym on Saturday.

The Owls (20-8), ranked 14th regionally, swept both of their matches, defeating NEWEMAC opponents Mount Holyoke 3-0 (25-8, 25-15, and 25-19) and Smith 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, and 25-21).

Freshman Bridget O'Bryant (Merrimack, N.H.) had five kills and three blocks, senior Sarah Peterson (Danville, N.H.) contributed 22 digs, and freshman setter Laurie Whalen (Niantic, Conn.) finished with 18 assists in Keene State's win over Mount Holyoke.

Mount Holyoke was led by senior Chelsea Tracy (St. Thomas, VI) with seven kills; sophomore Kateryna Kuc (New Haven, Conn.) had nine assists and 11 digs, and sophomore Rosa Marruffo (Tulsa, OK.) added three aces.

Freshman Kristen Girard (Tivoli, N.Y.) led the Owls over Smith with 10 kills and 11 digs.  O'Bryant topped KSC with nine kills and three blocks, and junior setter Jordan Pokryfki (Wasilla, AK) chipped in with 30 assists.

Junior Mikal Minarich (Hobart, IN.) had a fine overall match for Smith with five kills, 10 digs, and two blocks.  Junior Rachel Lackert (Cold Springs Harbor, N.Y.) added 17 digs, sophomore Lauren Martinez (Phoenix, AZ.) had an ace and eight assists, and freshman Courtney Faria (Bourne, Mass.) finished with two kills, seven assists, and one service ace.

In the third match, Smith won a highly-contested three game match against Plymouth State 3-0 (29-27, 25-17, and 26-24).

Senior Courtney Parker (Berlin, MD) had 11 kills, two digs, and two blocks, and sophomore Alexander Rissi (Scottsdale, AZ) added eight kills, three aces, two digs, and two blocks to lead Smith (11-13).

Plymouth was led by juniors Eliza Badeau (Foster, R.I.) with 11 kills, two digs, and two blocks and Carly Newton (Centerville, Mass.) with nine kills.  Senior Sarah Spears (Meredith, N.H.) chipped in with three aces and nine digs.

In the final match of the challenge, Plymouth State beat Mount Holyoke 3-0 (25-9, 25-4, and 25-15).

Badeau led the Panthers (15-9) with 10 kills, two aces, three digs, and five blocks.  Newton contributed eight kills, Spears finished with 16 digs, and freshman Meghan Sullivan (Marlton, N.J.) had six kills, two aces, one block, and three digs.

The Lyons of Mount Holyoke (4-9) was led by Kuc with 10 assists and two aces.  Tracy spiked five kills, and Marruffo added 12 digs.

Keene State is at Worcester State on Tuesday (6 p.m.).