CHESTERTOWN, Md. – The Ursinus College volleyball team gave host Washington College a battle after a lopsided first set, but the Bears' efforts were not enough to prevent a 3-0 sweep (25-7, 25-19, 25-20) in Centennial Conference action Friday.
Sophomore Miranda Foster paced Ursinus with six kills, seven digs, and a pair of blocks, while senior Taylor McCartney combined five kills with five digs, two aces, and two blocks. Senior Allison Raff picked up five more digs in her quest to reach 1,000 for her career, moving to within 17 with two matches left on the schedule.
The Bears (6-17, 0-8) got off to a rough start, dropping the first six points and falling behind 17-3 in the first set on the way to a 25-7 decision in favor of the Shorewomen (17-10, 3-6).
But Ursinus rallied in the second, taking a 4-1 lead with a kill by McCartney and three Washington College errors. After a Shorewomen spurt, Foster's kill trimmed the Bears' deficit to 9-8, but the home side rolled up four straight points and kept the visitors at arm's length the rest of the frame.
McCartney engineered an 8-4 start to the third set, racking up three kills and an ace to help Ursinus double up the home side in the early going. Unfortunately, Washington College captured nine of the next ten points to go ahead 13-9; the Bears got within two twice, the latest at 20-18, before the Shorewomen closed out the match.
Kaitlyn Marino had 10 kills against just one error for Washington College, which hit .216 and had 13 aces.
Sophomore Kelly Piotrowicz put up 17 assists in addition to seven digs, and classmate Lydia Pierce collected four kills with a block.
The volleyball team entertains McDaniel in its home finale on Friday, October 27.