KEUKA PARK, NY. – The Ursinus College women's volleyball team opened its season with a 3-0 victory on Friday afternoon against York College from the JMW Athletics Center.
Led by sophomore Caroline Sherman, who posted nine kills in the match as Ursinus swept past the Spartans 25-20, 25-18, and 25-11.

First-year Noelle Smits shined throughout the match collecting six kills and three blocks while senior Katie Cressman provided strong leadership when the Bears needed it the most against the Spartans by notching six kills and four digs.

In the first set, with the Spartans leading 4-3, Ursinus capitalized on four attack errors from York while kills from Haley Spotts and Caroline Sherman gave the Bears a 10-7 lead. The Spartans followed up with a 4-1 run after kills from Morgan Nolte and Shepard tied the match at eleven a piece. The Bears regained the lead and the momentum when Luca Walborn assisted on kills from Cressman and Sherman, making the score 18-16. Ursinus closed out the set tallying the final three points after a kill and service ace from Smits.

York College bounced back in the second set claiming the first six points from kills by Shepard, Nolte, and an ace from Alyssa Mott. The Bears answered back with an 8-0 run when kills from Smits and Cressman gave the Bears an 8-6 lead. Ursinus also capitalized on three consecutive attack errors from the Spartans. Later in the set, York tied the match at twelve a piece after Abby Diehl connected on an attack attempt. Ursinus regained the momentum after a 4-1 run gave them an 18-14 lead. The Bears closed out the set on a 7-4 run as Sherman used back-to-back kills to give the Bears the second set, 25-18.

In the third set, the Spartans jumped out to a 2-0 lead after back-to-back service aces from Diehl. Smits answered for the Bears with back-to-back kills and six more straight points gave Ursinus an 8-2 lead. With the score 9-4, Ursinus used five straight points behind two aces from first-year Reena Robinson to increase their lead to ten. The Bears closed out the match on a 11-7 run led by Sherman's three kills and closed out the set 25-11.

The Bears held a 28-17 advantage in kills for the game and a 24-16 edge in assists. The Spartans were led by Briyana Shepard who notched nine kills while teammate Alyssa Mott earned 14 assists. Meanwhile, for the Bears sophomore Emma Illovsky held a game-high 12 digs.

The Bears will return to the court tomorrow September 3^rd for a doubleheader against Keuka at noon followed by Marywood at 2pm. ­