WALTHAM, Mass. – The Ursinus Volleyball team split a pair of contests on the final day of the Brandeis Invitational on Saturday morning. The Bears bounced back to sweep Salve Regina in straight sets (25-21, 25-13, 25-19) after dropping a 3-1 contest to Endicott (19-25, 25-20, 18-25, 24-26).
 
 
Ursinus completes the weekend 2-1 after Friday's thrilling five set win over the host Brandeis.
 
Senior Caroline Sherman combined for a total of 33 kills between the two contests behind posting 11 against Endicott and 12 against Salve Regina. She led the Bears with double-digit kills in all three games in the invitational while combining for four blocks. Junior Lexi Couch added eight kills in the win over Salve Regina and junior Reena Robinson combined for 15 kills on Saturday with eight of them coming against the Seahawks. Senior Rachel Bernard added assist totals of 21 against Endicott and 18 versus Salve Regina while junior Erin Dychdala posted 14 assists against the Seahawks.
 
Endicott 3, Ursinus 1
 
The Bears started strong in the first set by taking an early 6-2 advantage after multiple errors from the Gulls. Ursinus stretched its lead out to 11-6 before Endicott won four straight points to pull within 11-10. The Bears responded with four straight of their own behind a pair of aces from Bernard, but the Gulls won nine of the next 11 points to go up 19-17. Ursinus won back-to-back points to tie the set up at 19 until Endicott won six straight points to finish the set out and go up 1-0 in the match.
 
 
Ursinus once again got the fast start in the second set by going up 6-1 behind getting four kills and eventually stretched its lead to 9-3. The Bears responded to a pair of Gulls points by winning six of the next seven points to go up 15-6. Ursinus continued to control the set as they went up 21-10, but a furious rally from Endicott saw them pull within three points at 22-19. However, Ursinus fended off the run by winning three of the last four points. The Bears went up 3-1 early in the third set and went back and forth with the Gulls before going up 7-5. Endicott turned the tide of the set by winning 10 of the next 11 points to go up 15-8. Ursinus rallied to get within three points at 18-15 before the Gulls slammed the door by taking the next three points and did not allow to let their lead go below three points.
 
 
The fourth set was the most competitive it was in the early portion as neither team was able to gain a lead of more than two points. With the set tied at nine, Ursinus finally broke ahead by winning six of the next seven points to go up 15-10. The Bears led 18-14 until the Gulls ran off six straight points to pull ahead at 20-18. Ursinus tied the set back up twice and reached set point at 24-23, but Endicott took advantage of a pair of attack errors in three straight points to close out the match.
 
 
Ursinus 3, Salve Regina 0
 
The Bears broke through in a competitive start to the first set by winning five of the next seven points with the score leveled at five and went up 10-7. Ursinus responded to three straight Seahawk points by taking six of the next eight to go up 16-12. Salve Regina made another charge at the Bears by pulling within a point at 18-17 before Ursinus won five of seven points to go up 23-19. Sherman closed the first set out with back-to-back kills and put the Bears in front to start the match.
 
 
Ursinus won three straight points after trailing 3-1 early in the second set and settled with a 6-4 advantage after a kill from Couch. Salve Regina took the lead back at 8-7 and the teams went back and forth for the next few points which left the second set tied at 10. Ursinus used a decisive seven-point run to go up 17-10 and stretched its advantage out to as many as 12 points. The Bears closed the second set out by taking four of the last five points with two aces coming from Dychdala.
 
 
The Bears carried momentum from the second set into the third as they jumped out to a 5-1 advantage behind four errors from the Seahawks. Ursinus went up 10-5 before the Seahawks made a run at the Bears by winning four straight points to pull within 10-9. The Bears won three of the next four points to go up 13-9 and put the finishing touches on the match by winning five of six points, going ahead 19-12. Ursinus did not allow its lead to fall below four points in the rest of the set and won five of their last six points from kills.
 
 
Ursinus returns home for its 2024 Helfferich Hall opener on Wednesday, September 4th as they will host Neumann at 7:00 p.m.