ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A four-set match that saw three of them decided by two points went against the Ursinus volleyball team on Wednesday night as they dropped a 3-1 decision (23-25, 23-25, 28-26, 16-25) to Muhlenberg in Centennial Conference action.
 
With the loss, the Bears drop to 11-4 overall and 1-2 in Centennial Conference action. Meanwhile, the Mules improved to 9-7 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
 

Senior Katie Cressman led the Bears with a team-high 11 kills and recorded 11 digs, two assists, along with two blocks. Sophomore Caroline Sherman posted 10 kills, five digs, and three aces while junior Haley Spotts added nine kills. Sophomore Emma Illovsky led the team with 15 digs and classmate Rachel Bernard paced the offense with 19 assists.
 

The Bears jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the first set after taking advantage of a trio of Mules errors. Ursinus worked its lead out to 9-5 before Muhlenberg reeled off six-straight points to go up 11-9 behind four-straight attack errors from the Bears. Ursinus responded by taking three of the next four points to go up 13-12 which set off multiple short runs from each team over the course of the rest of the set. A lead never reached more than one point until the Bears went up 19-17, but the Mules ran off four-straight points behind three more attack errors to go up 21-19 and forcing a Bears timeout. The Mules stretched its lead to 23-20 and Ursinus rallied for back-to-back points to cut the lead to one. Cressman helped the Bears stave off set point with a kill to make it 24-23 before the Mules struck back quickly after the ensuing serve with a kill to take set one.
 

Sherman opened the second set for the Bears with a kill and the Mules responded with four-straight points to go up 4-1. The teams then began trading kills in the early portion of the set which left Muhlenberg up 9-5. However, the Bears won 11 of the next 14 points to go up 16-12 and forced a Mules timeout. Cressman put the Bears up 17-13 with another kill, but the Mules put a rally together by winning six of the next eight points to level the set at 19 apiece. Ursinus won the next two points to go up 21-19 before Muhlenberg won five of the next six points to put themselves at set point, 24-22. The Bears seemingly got new life when the next serve went into the net to make it 24-23, however, it became déjà vu all over again as the Mules got a kill to take the second set by the same score of 25-23.
 

The Mules seemingly took control of the third set right off the bat by going up 4-1 behind a pair of kills and aces, but Ursinus won the next two points to make it 4-3. Muhlenberg stretched its lead back out to six first at 11-5 and eventually 14-8. The Bears refused the quit as they won 14 of the next 17 points to go up 22-17. The Mules ran off five-straight points to tie the set at 22 before a pair of errors put the Bears at set point for the first time in the match. Muhlenberg staved off set point by tying things up at 24 and put themselves at set point with a 26-25 advantage. Ursinus dug deep and won three-straight points to take the third set at 28-26 while forcing a fourth set.
 

The fourth set began with a pair of runs from each team as the Bears countered a three-point run from the Mules with four of their own to go up 4-3. Three more points in a row gave the Mules a 6-4 lead and they eventually stretched their advantage to 10-6. Ursinus worked its way back to get within one point of the Mules on four separate occasions but could not get the run they needed like they had in the other sets. First-year Noelle Smits recorded a kill to make it an 18-16 game before the Mules closed the set and match out with seven-straight points. The Mules hit .240 as a team in the final set.
 
 
Esmae Oehler led the Mules with a game-high 16 kills and Isabella Pontrelli added 10 kills along with a game-high .318 hitting percentage. Alyssa Faville posted a game-high 27 digs and Emma Eglinton paced the Mules offense with a game-high 42 assists.
 

The Bears return to action on Saturday, October 8th as they will host Johns Hopkins at 1 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear blue as the team raises awareness for childhood cancer and the B+ foundation.