KEENE, N.H. – First year outside hitter Marina Miller racked up 16 kills and hit .204 to lead a balanced and efficient offensive performance as the Keene State College women's volleyball team swept Colby-Sawyer College 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-14) in non-conference action Wednesday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Postgame Interview (Jake Girard)
Postgame Interview (Marina Miller)

The Owls (6-7) snapped a string of four straight losses, including the last three tough setbacks in five.  KSC never trailed in either of the first two sets and only once in the match, when the Chargers scored the first two points of the third.  The Owls quickly restored order, running off six of the next seven points and never trailed again, going up 12-6 following kills from Annaliese Rudberg and Gigi Stake to go long with an ace by Delia Ryan.  Another run of six straight points shortly thereafter made it 18-10, and the Owls were well on their way to clinching the match from there, ultimately closing on a 13-4 burst.

Miller piled up 13 kills over the opening two sets as KSC cruised to 25-18 and 25-16 victories, limiting the Chargers to -.083 and .056 attacking in those frames.  The Owls opened the match by scoring four of the opening five points and led 12-5 in the first set after an ace by Ryan.  Colby-Sawyer clawed back to within one twice, including at 18-17 after Kamryn Brakemeier's serve was mishandled by the Owls, but the home team polished off a set victory by closing on a 7-1 push that featured three Ryan aces, including back-to-back to end it.

Keene State opened the second with four straight kills from three different people and was in command to open a 2-0 match lead.  Two kills by Jordyn Mik and another by Stake helped fuel another run of four straight a short time later to make it 12-6, and two straight spikes by Miller forced a CSC timeout at 16-8.  The Chargers trimmed their deficit to four at 19-15, but KSC responded with four straight points to wipe away any chance at a comeback and went up 2-0 after a 25-16 second set win that ended with a kill by Molly Wetherbee and a block by Mik and Rudberg.

Miller added 17 digs to finish with a double-double, while Rudberg (.350 pct.) and Stake (.200 pct.) each had eight kills.  Stake had a team-high 20 digs, and the Owls as a team had 89 in a three-set match, limiting Colby-Sawyer to only .022 attacking.

Brakemeier paced the Chargers with seven kills and no errors (.438 pct.), but the visitors lost for the ninth consecutive time in the series, with their last win coming in 2014.

The Owls open Little East Conference play on Saturday (September 28) when they visit Western Connecticut State University for a tri-match with the host Wolves and Trinity College (Conn.) at 12:00 p.m.  Colby-Sawyer visits Rivier University for a GNAC tri-match that also features the University of St. Joseph (Conn.) on the same day.