CAMDEN, N.J. – Junior Allison Raff and freshman Kelly Piotrowicz each produced a double-double as the Ursinus College volleyball team swept Rutgers-Camden in three tightly contested sets Tuesday, moving back above the break-even mark for the season. The Bears took the first two frames by identical 25-22 tallies before erasing a late five-point deficit and a set point and outlasting the Raptors, 27-25, in the third.
Raff matched season highs in kills (19) and digs (16) and Piotrowicz turned in a dynamic all-around effort, just missing a triple-double with 17 assists, 13 digs, and nine kills for Ursinus (3-2), which looked in danger of seeing the match go to a fourth set before a stirring comeback sent them back home with their second sweep of the young campaign.
Trailing 21-16 after Rutgers-Camden (1-4) embarked on a run of six unanswered points, the Bears went right to work on a rally, as freshman Lauren Novotny served three consecutive points during a 4-0 burst that cut the hosts' lead to one. The Raptors earned a set point, but Raff took control of the match, blasting a kill off a feed from Piotrowicz to pull Ursinus even at 24-all. Another kill by the junior outside hitter gave the Bears a match point, but a service error leveled the spread for a final time. An attack error by Rutgers-Camden set the stage for Raff, who delivered a cross-court game-winning kill to squelch the home side's uprising.
Ursinus trailed 4-1 in the opening set before rattling off five of the next six points and never trailed again. Rutgers-Camden did forge a tie at 19-apiece after a four-point run, prompting a timeout for the Bears. The visitors took full advantage of the chance to regroup, with a kill from Raff and three straight errors by the Raptors providing a 23-19 edge. Two more kills off the right hand of Raff finally closed the frame at 25-22.
Raff registered a pair of kills during a 6-0 spurt to open the second set, and though Rutgers-Camden closed the gap to 11-10, it could get no closer. A kill by Piotrowicz and an ace from Novotny restored some order, and another blast from Raff preceded a stretch of three consecutive aces off the serve of junior Taylor McCartney that staked the Bears to an 18-12 advantage. Leading 23-21, Piotrowicz sandwiched two kills around her own error to finalize another 25-22 spread.
Jassmine Watson led the Raptors with 13 kills, while Jordan Erskine added 10.
Ursinus hit .142 for the match, while Rutgers-Camden produced an .072 percentage on attack. The Bears hit .200 (13K-5E-40TA) in the third set.
Piotrowicz added two aces, a solo block, and two assisted rejections to her stat line, while McCartney collected three kills, three aces, and eight digs. Freshman Miranda Foster paired four kills with two block assists, and senior Emily van Mulbregt handed out nine assists.
The Bears continue a stretch of four straight road matches with a trip to Marywood on Wednesday, September 7 before opening Centennial Conference play at Swarthmore on Saturday, September 10.