WALTHAM, Mass. – Ellie Wheeler amassed a season-high 19 kills as the Bentley volleyball team outlast St. Anselm in five sets (25-18, 25-11, 30-32, 23-25, 15-9) during a Northeast-10 quarterfinal match in the Dana Center Tuesday night.

#3 Bentley will take on #2 New Haven in the NE10 semifinals Friday, Nov. 17, hosted by #1 Adelphi.

The Falcons easily handled the Hawks in the first two sets, but St. Anselm wasn't going down without a fight.

The teams were neck-and-neck throughout the third set, but Bentley reached match point, 24-23, thanks to a Hawks error. St. Anselm remained alive with a kill, and then a Falcons error allowed the Hawks to take a one-point lead in the set.

A kill by Rachel Vitko put Bentley at match point again, 26-25, but again the Hawks answered with a kill of their own. The Hawks ended the set, 32-30, with a kill and an ace.

St. Anselm maintained momentum by racing out to a 7-2 lead in the fourth set. Consecutive kills by Wheeler and Elizabeth Blinn cut the Bentley deficit to 8-4. The momentum change was short lived, as the Hawks' lead climbed to 16-8.

Bentley continued to chip away. The Falcons went on a 7-1 run later in the set, and a kill by Indrid Murphy tied the frame at 23-23. Still, the Hawks grabbed the next two points to force a decisive fifth set.

In that final stanza, it was as if the previous two never happened. Bentley looked to be in complete control when a Caitlin Wunder kill was followed by consecutive Ingrid Murphy aces to give the Falcons a 6-3 lead.

The Hawks got to within one point, 9-8, but Bentley closed out the match with a 6-1 run. Ali Stuessi provided a couple of service aces during the match-ending run.

Murphy finished the match with 12 kills and six aces, while Wunder added 11 kills. Natalie Thom came away with 27 assists – her most since a previous win over St. Anselm (34, Sept. 30).