WESTMINSTER, Md. – The Ursinus Women's Volleyball team split a pair of matches at the McDaniel Tri-Match on Saturday afternoon. The Bears dropped a match in four sets to McDaniel in Centennial Conference action (15-25, 25-20, 23-25, 22-25) before defeating Eastern Mennonite in four sets (25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22).
The Bears record now stands at 9-9 overall and 1-2 in Centennial Conference action after the two matches today.
Against the Green Terror, junior
Caroline Sherman led way with a game-high 18 kills on a .293 hitting percentage while adding seven digs. Sophomore
Mel Eglinton posted 15 kills on a .231 hitting percentage while junior
Rachel Bernard recorded 23 assists, 11 digs, and two kills.
McDaniel started strong in the first set by gaining an early 6-2 advantage. The Bears worked their way back by winning four of the next five points to cut the lead down to 7-6. McDaniel responded by winning seven of the next nine points to go up 14-8. Ursinus got within three points at 17-14, but the Green Terror ended any Bears rally by winning eight of the next nine points to close out the set. The Bears bounced back in the second set by winning the first seven points and eventually extended their lead out to 11-4. Ursinus continued to roll as they broke open the set by winning six of the next seven points to go up 20-10 after leading 14-9. McDaniel rallied to get within four points at 24-20 after winning 10 of the next 14 points, but a service error on the ensuing serve leveled the match at one.
Ursinus jumped out to an early lead again in the third set as they went up 4-1, but the Green Terror won 10 of the next 12 points to go up 11-6. After that run, the Green Terror maintained at least a four point advantage for the next portion of the set and eventually held a 21-14 advantage. Ursinus fought back by pulling within one point at 23-22 after winning eight of the next 10 points. A kill from Sherman made it a 24-23 game but an attack error on the next rally ended the set. The Bears gained an early 5-3 advantage in the fourth set before the Green Terror won four-straight points to go up 7-5. Ursinus took five of the next seven points to go up 10-9, but McDaniel stormed ahead by winning 8 of the next 10 points to go up 17-12. The Green Terror stretched their lead out to 21-15 before the Bears rallied again to get within two points at 23-21. However, the Green Terror won two of the next three points to end the set and match.
Against the Royals, Eglinton had another big match as she registered a career-high 19 kills to a strong .310 hitting percentage. Sherman added 13 kills for her second match of double-digit kills on the day and senior
Haley Spotts posted eight kills and four blocks. Bernard registered 28 assists and sophomore
Erin Dychdala added 12 assists.
Eastern Mennonite went up 5-3 early in the first set before the Bears won eight of the next 11 points to go up 11-8. After the Royals won back-to-back points to make it a 11-10 set, the Bears won six of the next seven points to go up 17-11. Eastern Mennonite made a charge to get within two points at 21-19 and eventually one at 23-22. The Bears dug deep and won the last two points behind a kill from Eglinton and an attack error. Ursinus initially continued momentum from the first set win by going up 3-1 before stretching their advantage out to 12-5 behind winning seven-straight points. The Bears extended their advantage to 17-10, but the Royals stunned Ursinus by taking 15 of the next 17 points to tie the match at one apiece.
The third set started with the Royals continuing their end of the second set run by taking the early advantage and holding a 9-5 lead. Ursinus pulled within two points at 13-11 before three-straight points from Eastern Mennonite put them up 16-11. The Bears won six of the next seven points to tie the set at 17 before the Royals broke through some back and forth action to take a 22-20 lead. However, Ursinus turned the tide of the set and match by winning five of the next six points, including the last two back-to-back, to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
It was the Royals that started the fourth set on fire as they took an early 8-2 advantage behind four kills and three aces. Eastern Mennonite worked their way out to an 11-5 lead before the Bears won six-straight points to tie the set at 11. The Royals went back up again at 14-12 but Ursinus won six of the next seven points to take an 18-15 lead in the set. Ursinus did not relinquish the lead in the rest of the set and won the last two points to lock up the set and match.
The Bears return to action on Wednesday, October 11th as they will host Swarthmore at 7:00 p.m.
