KEENE, N.H. 10/29/13 – The Keene State College women's volleyball team secured second place in the Little East standings and a bye in the opening-round of the conference tournament with a 3-0 victory over the University of Southern Maine Tuesday night at Spaulding Gym.  The Owls were hosting a Dig Pink event raising money for for breast cancer awareness

The Owls won in straight sets 25-19, 25-13 and 25-12.

The win is the fifth straight for Keene State and improves its record to 18-12 overall and 5-1 in the Little East.  The loss snaps a two-match win streak for Southern Maine dropping its record to 21-9 overall and 1-5 in the conference. 

Sophomore Madeline Nossiff (Portsmouth, N.H.) hit an outstanding 61.1 percent with 12 kills on 18 attempts and just one error to lead the Owls. Nossiff's 12 kills were a match-high total as the Owls hit a solid .235 as a team. She also had four block assists, as the Owls combined for 10 blocks in the match.  Sophomore Angela Silveri (Poughquag, N.Y.) added nine kills and nine digs.   Freshman setter Brooke Bell (Melrose, Mass.) had a match-high 16 assists, while sophomore Alexis Michal (Windham, N.H.) had 13 assists and three service aces.

Husky freshman Amanda Keppel (Springfield, Pa.) paced Southern Maine with six kills, adding four digs.  Freshman Megan Nilson (Granby, Conn.) had 13 assists and a team-high 13 digs.

The Huskies played the Owls closely in the first set and trailed Keene State 20-18; before Nossiff swung for a pair of kills during a 5-1 run to give her team a 25-19 win in the opener.  In the second set, USM again kept pace with Keene State, trailing 12-10 following a point from Keppel, but the Owls used a string of Husky errors and timely hits from Nossiff to down the Huskies 25-13. 

USM led the Owls 7-2 in the third set, but Keene State roared back to take the win.  The Owls used an 8-0 run to grab a 10-7 lead.  Nossiff had two of the Owls' three kills in the pivotal run.

Keene State hosts Rhode Island College on Saturday (12 p.m.) in its final home regular season match of the season.