IMMACULATA, Pa. – The Ursinus College volleyball team recovered from squandering seven consecutive set points to tough out a nip-and-tuck third set on the way to a 3-1 non-conference victory at Immaculata on Tuesday night.
Freshman Kelly Piotrowicz just missed a triple-double with a career-high 11 kills, 28 assists, and eight digs for the Bears (5-3), who bested the Mighty Macs (1-6) for the fourth straight season and have already matched last season's win total. Junior Allison Raff paired a season-best 25 digs with a team-high 14 kills for her fourth double-double, and rookie Miranda Foster more than doubled her previous collegiate best with nine kills as Ursinus won for the third time in four matches with a 19-25, 25-19, 26-24, 25-13 result.
Arden Vizzard led all players with 16 kills and added 21 digs for Immaculata, which nearly pulled of a miraculous third-set comeback before Ursinus righted the ship. The Bears led 24-17 before the Mighty Macs erased seven consecutive set points, forcing a pair of timeouts. The second stoppage produced its intended effect, as Immaculata misfired on a serve and Piotrowicz finally clinched it with her 10th kill of the evening, marking a season high and locking up her fourth double-double.
This matchup had produced five-set thrillers in each of the past two seasons (and three of the last four), but Ursinus made sure the latest edition would not go the distance. Immaculata committed six attack errors in the first 17 points of the frame, allowing the Bears to open up a 13-4 spread. Ursinus was never threatened in cruising to a 25-13 match-clinching score.
After the Mighty Macs came out on the top end of a seesaw first set that featured an incredible 12 ties and five lead changes, Ursinus (5-3) employed a trio of four-point runs to gain separation. Leading 10-9, Raff and Foster sandwiched kills around an error by Immaculata, and freshman Lauren Novotny's service ace extended the bulge to 14-9.
The Mighty Macs got even at 16-all before the second 4-0 run by the Bears, who went ahead to stay on a kill by senior Sam Murphy. After an attack error by Immaculata, senior Emily van Mulbregt facilitated a kill by freshman Kelly Piotrowicz and added an ace to make it 20-16. The home side got no closer than 21-19 the rest of the way, as Raff closed out the set – and another four-point burst – with her sixth kill on a feed from Piotrowicz.
Unlike in the first two frames, the Bears took command right away in the third. Piotrowicz registered an ace and a kill during a three-point service run to kick-start the set, and Ursinus found itself with a 6-1 lead following consecutive spikes by Raff and Foster. Immaculata came back with four straight points of its own, but a service error preceded a five-point service span from sophomore Sydney Gonzalez, who pounded home two aces in a sequence that resulted in a 12-5 advantage. Murphy collected a kill and combined with junior Taylor McCartney on a block during the run. The Bears looked ready to run away with the set before Immaculata rallied and nearly snatched it from their grasp.
Ursinus was especially efficient in the second and fourth sets, hitting .265 and .233, respectively.
Gonzalez, Novotny, and Piotrowicz each had three of the Bears' 11 aces, and Gonzaled hustled to 13 digs. McCartney finished with 12 digs and four kills, and Murphy collected seven kills, three block assists, and an ace. Van Mulbregt tallied 11 assists and six digs.
The Bears posted season highs in kills (48), assists (43), and digs (71).
Ursinus plays its first home match of the season on Saturday, September 17, when Gettysburg comes to Helfferich Hall for a 1:00 p.m. Centennial Conference match.