KEENE, N.H. 10/6/11– Two streaks came to end with Keene State College's 3-0 non-conference women's volleyball victory over Emmanuel College at Spaulding Gym on Thursday night.  The Owls (9-7) snapped their three match losing streak and the Saints (10-12) saw their five match winning streak come to an end.

Keene State was able to take a 1-0 lead in the match with a convincing 25-12 win in the first set in which they slammed down 16 kills to go along with five services aces. The Owls continued to own the play at the net, hammering home 17 kills in a 25-17 win to make it 2-0 in the match. Emmanuel did show some signs of life late in the third set, pulling to within two points at 24-22 but a kill by junior right side hitter Ali Facchini (Niantic, Conn.) sealed the 25-22 third set win and the 3-0 victory for the hosts.
         

The Owls finished the evening hitting a blazing .398 from the floor led by 16 kills on 26 attempts by senior middle hitter Bridget O'Bryant (Merrimack, N.H.) who also had a team-high 12 digs and four aces in the win. Facchini finished the match with six kills while senior setter Laurie Whalen (Niantic, Conn.) ran the offensive show, dishing out 38 assists. 

"We just had fun again," said Whalen.  "We're coming off three loses and we just wanted to have fun. We said let's keep this light and have a good time.  We're a better team when we're having fun."

For the Saints, senior middle hitter Rebecca Stanton (Quincy, Mass.) recorded a team-high nine kills while freshman setter Alison Donnelly (Longmeadow, Mass.) dished out 14 assists.

Keene State will return to action on Saturday when it travels to Wesleyan University for a tri-match against both Wesleyan and Trinity (CT) starting at 11 a.m.