BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The efficient hitting of Allison Raff and a strong debut from freshman Kelly Piotrowicz propelled the Ursinus College women's volleyball team to a split of its season-opening matches at Moravian's Greyhound Premiere Invitational on Friday evening. Behind 14 kills from the former and 26 assists from the latter, the Bears secured a 3-0 sweep of Alvernia in their first action of 2016 before succumbing to Pit-Bradford by the same score in the nightcap.

After edging the Crusaders in a tight first set, 25-22, Ursinus (1-1) controlled the match with nearly flawless play over the final two sets. The Bears, who committed nine attack errors in the opening frame, notched 11 kills without an error in 30 attempts in a 25-18 second-set decision before coasting to a 25-14 victory in a third set that featured five kills to a single error.

Raff was the recipient of Piotrowicz's stellar setting. The junior racked up a match-best 14 kills, a career high for a three-set contest, and added four digs and a solo block to lead all players with 16.0 points. Junior Taylor McCartney paired five kills with four digs, and sophomore Sydney Gonzalez turned in a strong effort with a match-best 12 digs and a career high-tying four aces for the Bears, who won their season opener for the first time since 2012 and handed Alvernia its seventh consecutive setback in the series.

In addition to her assist total, Piotrowicz produced six digs and had three solo blocks, and freshman Lauren Novotny collected five digs in her collegiate debut.

Ursinus hit .158 against the Crusaders, a figure they surpassed only once all of last season.

Pitt-Bradford kept the Bears from leaving the first day of tournament action with a sweep, however, as the Panthers rolled to a 25-20, 25-20, 25-16 triumph. Raff paced Ursinus in both kills (6) and digs (16) in addition to an ace and a block, while freshman Miranda Foster and senior Sam Murphy tallied three kills each.

Gonzalez recorded 15 digs in the nightcap, and Piotrowicz had 17 assists to go with four digs and an ace. McCartney finished with two kills and seven digs, with Novotny chipping in eight digs and a kill.

The Bears conclude their stay in Bethlehem with a pair of matches on Saturday; they face off with Medaille at 10:00 a.m. before a 4:00 p.m. date with Wesley.