WALTHAM, Mass. – Southern Connecticut State overcame a 13-6 deficit in the fourth and final set to close out Bentley University in Northeast-10 Conference women's volleyball Tuesday night at the Dana Center, spoiling the Falcons' home opener. Scores were 25-20, 27-29, 25-14 and 25-22.

Southern extended its winning streak to seven matches and improved to 8-1 overall. Both teams were opening their conference schedule, with Bentley dropping to 1-4 overall.

Junior outside hitter Lauren McVey (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) and six-foot-two Sarah Beres (Ellington, Conn.) each had 14 kills to power Southern while Bentley received 12 kills apiece from freshman Jaci Buscher (Lakewood, Colo./Green Mountain HS) and sophomore Kelsey Buckner (San Marino, Calif./ San Marino HS).

The Owls never trailed in the opening set, but the second was back-and-forth with 21 ties and 10 lead changes before the Falcons pulled it out. With the score even at 27, Bentley grabbed the lead on a kill by sophomore Emily Garcia (Gardnerville, Nev./Douglas HS) and squared the match at one apiece on a block by senior Grace Conner (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos HS).

After Southern led from the opening point to take the third set easily, Bentley started strong in the fourth, using a 7-1 spurt to open a 13-6 lead. That flurry included three kills from sophomore Tatiana Froehlich (Newton/Newton North HS).

However, the momentum changed as the visitors countered with four straight points, the beginning of a match-ending 19-9 run. Bentley cut the deficit to one at 23-22, but two kills by Beres ended the match.

Freshman Kyana Miller (San Diego, Calif./Canyon Crest Acad.) and sophomore Alex Tator (Los Angeles, Calif./Marlborough School) had 28 and 15 assists, respectively, for Bentley, and sophomore Lauren Colasanti (Northville, Mich./Northville HS) made 24 digs.

Serving by both teams hurt the Falcons. Bentley gave away 14 points on serving errors and Southern put down 11 aces, including four by setter Kimberly Lachowicz (Mansfield, Texas).

Bentley will be back in the Dana Center this weekend, hosting a six-team invitational. The Falcons will play Queens Friday at 7:30 pm, California (Pa.) Saturday at 10 am and Georgian Court Saturday at 3 pm.