ASTON, PA. – After postponing their previous two matches, the Ursinus College women's volleyball team continued their hot start to the 2022 season with victories over Moravian University and Cedar Crest College on Saturday afternoon.
 
With the win, the Bears continue their best start to a season in over 20 years by improving to 9-0. Meanwhile, the Falcons fall to 1-5 overall and the Greyhounds dropped their fourth straight falling to 5-5 on the season.
 
Senior Katie Cressman had a day to remember from the Mirenda Center, combining for 41 kills, 23 digs, and a hitting percentage of .266. The Blandon, Pennsylvania native notched a career high 25 kills in the Bears victory over the Falcons while earning double-doubles in both matches. Her efforts earned a nod on the All-Tournament Team from the Knights Invitational.
 
 
Ursinus vs Moravian (25-19, 26-24, 25-20)
 
In their first match of the day, the Bears swept past the Greyhounds in straight sets as first-year Reena Robinson added her first career double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs. Senior Luca Walborn paced the offensive earning a team-high 21 assists while first-year Erin Dychdala added 13 assists, three kills, and four blocks. Senior Ashley Kelly led the Bears on the defensive end picking up a season-high 15 digs while junior Madison Vinovrski and Dychdala combined for six blocks in the middle.
 
The Bears jumped out to an early lead in the first set after an ace from Dychdala and a kill from Walborn made the score 8-5. Ursinus stretched their lead to five after back-to-back errors from the Greyhounds made the score 12-7. Moravian responded with a 6-2 run cutting the deficit to just one, after a kill from Grace Silfani and an ace from Tamara Vasquez. The Bears answered with a 6-1 run led by kills from Gabby McGinn and Cressman, leading to a timeout for the Greyhounds. Ursinus closed out the first set after Cressman assisted Robinson for a kill making the score 25-19.
 
In the second set, Moravian jumped out to a 13-8 lead before the Bears called a timeout after a service error. After the timeout, Ursinus displayed their resilience going on a 6-1 run tying the match at fourteen a piece. The Bears used kills from Robinson and McGinn while Walborn and Vinovrski each dished out an assist. The Greyhounds responded with a 5-2 run, making the score 19-16 after an ace from Emiy Szy. Moments later with the Greyhounds leading 24-21, Ursinus rallied off five straight points stealing the second set 26-24. Junior Claire Worley earned three straight service aces while a block from Dychdala and Vinovrski closed out the second set.
 
In the final set, each team traded points over the opening minutes as the match was tied at eight a piece. The Bears used a 5-1 run to make the score 13-9 as Worley earned back-to-back aces and Robinson picked up two more kills. Ursinus closed out the final set, winning 25-20 as Cressman, Robinson, and Vinovrski combined for seven kills.
 
Ursinus vs Cedar Crest (19-25, 25-23, 25-16, 26-24)
 
Although the Falcons took the first set 25-19, Ursinus rallied off three straight set victories behind an all-around team performance. Led by Cressman's 25 kills and 11 digs, Dychdala earned a career-high 23 assists for the Bears, while Robinson notched a career-high 14 digs in the second match of the day.
 
In the second set trailing 11-8, the Bears used a 5-1 run behind a Cressman kill and an ace from classmate Ashley Kelly to regain the lead 13-12. Each team traded points until a Falcons error and a kill from McGinn tied the match at twenty a piece. The Falcons earned the next three points behind a kill from Alexis Cummins and back-to-back Bears errors made the score 23-20. Ursinus rallied once again earning the next five points behind two kills from Cressman to tie the match at one a piece.
 
Ursinus carried the momentum over in the third set jumping out to a 9-2 lead. Robinson and Kelly each earned aces while Cressman picked up two kills both assisted by Dychdala. The Falcons battled back in the match, cutting their deficit to just two after a 7-2 run made the score 11-9. The Bears pushed their lead out to five after kills from Dychdala and Cressman made the score 18-13. The offense started to click as the Bears stretched their lead to nine behind four kills from Cressman to make the score 23-14. Ursinus closed out the set, regaining a 2-1 match lead after Cressman added a kill and a bad set from the Falcons gave the Bears a 25-16 set victory.
 
In the final set with the match tied at twenty a piece, the Falcons used a 3-0 run leading to a Bears timeout. After a service error from the Falcons, the Bears tied the match at 23 a piece after a kill from Walborn was assisted by Megan Aube. Claire Worley secured the match for the Bears as her serve proved to be too much to handle for the Falcone defense.
 
Cedar Crest was led by Ava Grapsy as she netted a game-high 36 assists while Alexis Cummins and Elise Everett each finished with 11 kills. Ursinus finished with a .137 hitting percentage while earning seven aces and three blocks.
 
The Bears will return to action on Tuesday, September 20^th as they host Gwynedd Mercy from Helfferich Hall at 7pm.