NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Ursinus Women's Volleyball team wrapped up its opening weekend in New England with a split at the UMass Dartmouth Tri-Match. The Bears dropped a 3-0 contest to the Corsairs (8-25, 21-25, 16-25) before defeating Suffolk 3-1 (25-20, 25-12, 19-25, 25-10).
 
 
The Bears went 1-2 in their first three games of the season on their two-day trip.
 
 
UMass Dartmouth 3, Ursinus 0
 
The Cosairs started fast by taking the first six points of the first set and held an early 8-1 lead. It was all UMass Dartmouth in the first set as they built a lead by as many as 17 points which ended up being the final margin.
 
 
Like the first set, the Cosairs gained an early lead as they went up 5-1 in the first set and stretched their lead to 10-5. UMass Dartmouth went up by as many as seven points at 15-8 before the Bears won six of the next seven points to cut the deficit down to 16-14. However, the Cosairs won four of the next points to go up 20-15 and the Bears did not get closer than three points in the remainder of the second set.
 
 
Ursinus went back-and-forth with the Cosairs to start in the third set and tied things at four following an attack error. The Cosairs initially won three straight points to go up 7-4 before blowing things open by winning 14 of the next 20 points to take command at 21-10. The Bears got within seven points at 22-15 before the Cosairs closed things out.
 
 
First-year Lauren McGinn led the Bears with seven kills on a .333 hitting percentage while adding five digs. Senior Mel Eglinton posted six kills and a team-high seven digs.
 
 
Ursinus 3, Suffolk 1
 
The Bears found themselves trailing 4-2 in the first set until they won seven of the next eight points to go up 9-5 before extending its lead to 13-6. Ursinus extended its lead to 16-9 before the Rams won six of the next seven points to get within two points at 17-15. The Bears responded by winning seven of the next nine points and staved off a late rally to win the first set 25-20.
 
 
Ursinus worked back from a 2-0 deficit to start the second set by winning eight of the next 10 points to go up 8-4. It was a sign of things to come in the second set as they won 11 of the next 13 points to take a commanding 19-6 lead. Suffolk only got within nine points in the second set after that run and the Bears finished things off with their .350 hitting percentage in the second set.
 
 
The teams traded points in the early portion of the third set and the Bears held an 8-7 advantage after seven lead changes. However, the Rams won 11 of the next 13 points to go up 18-10. The Bears rallied to get back within four points at 22-18, but Suffolk closed things out with not much drama to force a fourth set.
 
Ursinus left no doubt in the fourth set as they blew things open early by taking a 13-4 lead behind winning 10 of the next 11 points after the set was tied at three. The Bears closed out their first win of the season in dominating fashion in the fourth set by leading by as many as 15 points, the final deficit of the set.
 
 
Senior Lexi Couch led the Bears with eight kills along with two blocks against the Rams while McGinn added another strong showing with seven kills plus two digs. Senior Reena Robinson tallied six kills and four digs with a block while classmate Erin Dychdala paced the offense with 11 assists. Dychdala added five kills, five digs, and three aces as well.
 
 
The Bears return to action on Friday, September 5th as they will open play at the Neumann Knights Invitational with DeSales at 5:00 p.m.