Volleyball Earns Split in Season Opener

Volleyball Earns Split in Season Opener

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Ursinus College volleyball team opened its season with a split at Moravian's annual Greyhound Premiere Invitational, scoring a sweep of Alvernia in its lid-lifter before taking the host Greyhounds to four sets in the nightcap.

Moravian 3, Ursinus 1 (25-18, 25-19, 18-25, 25-19)

The Bears put up a spirited fight against the host Greyhounds, rallying from two sets down to force a fourth, but were unable to complete the comeback.

Junior Miranda Foster was the most effective offensive weapon for Ursinus, racking up nine kills against just one error for a .444 attack percentage. Harris added eight kills and sophomore Hannah Merges posted five. Junior Kelly Piotrowicz posted another double-double with 18 assists and 15 digs.

The Bears hit a solid .227 in the first set but could not contain Moravian, which hit .286 itself and jumped out to a 16-6 advantage on the way to a comfortable result.

Ursinus rattled off a 6-1 run to take an early 9-8 lead in the second set, forcing several Greyhound errors before an ace by freshman Olivia DeBonte capped the surge. Moravian, however, wrested control back at 15-11 and held off the visitors from there.

Their backs to the wall, the Bears roared to an 8-2 lead in the third set courtesy of a run of eight uninterrupted points that featured a pair of kills from Foster. Moravian pulled within three on two occasions but was unable to gain further traction as sophomore Paige DeAlba punctuated the set with a kill on an assist from senior captain Sydney Gonzalez.

Ursinus trailed 16-10 in the fourth before giving the Greyhounds a late scare, closing to 17-16 with a strong run on the serve of sophomore Grace Sullivan. Moravian won the next three points and pulled away to claim a hard-fought victory.

Ursinus 3, Alvernia 0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-20)

Foster was especially efficient in the Bears' opener as well, producing seven kills to one error among just 14 attacks, and she had plenty of support from Piotrowicz' eight kills. Piotrowicz also tallied ten assists and five digs, and joined Piotrowicz with two block assists.

Gonzalez had 12 digs, with Sullivan chipping in eight in addition to two aces. DeAlba finished with four kills, eight assists, and two aces.

Up Next

The Bears conclude the tournament with matches against Baldwin Wallace (10 AM) and Wesley (2 PM).