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Volleyball Edged by Berks in Five-Set Thriller

Volleyball Edged by Berks in Five-Set Thriller

READING, Pa. – The Ursinus College volleyball team stormed out to a two-set advantage in Thursday's non-conference tilt at Penn State-Berks, but the Nittany Lions rallied to take the final three, closing out a thrilling 3-2 victory with a 15-13 margin in the deciding fifth frame.

Penn State-Berks (9-5) stretched its winning streak over the Bears to three with the 21-25, 17-25, 25-17, 25-23, 15-13 nail-biter.

Freshman setter Kelly Piotrowicz put up eye-popping numbers in the first five-setter of the season for the Bears (7-6). The rookie outperformed her previous collegiate bests in the three primary categories, posting 17 kills, 43 assists, and 20 digs in her second triple-double of the season. Her previous career highs were 11, 31, and 16, respectively.

Junior outside hitter Allison Raff exploded for a season-high 26 kills and 23 digs. Raff, who came in ranked second in the Centennial Conference in kills per set, added a pair of blocks to her stat line, the second 20-20 effort of her career.

Senior setter Emily van Mulbregt was the third Ursinus player to record a double-double, pairing 19 assists with 12 digs in her first such performance of the season. Van Mulbregt also chipped in four aces, her second match in as many nights with at least three service winners.

Senior Danielle Kenny also turned in one of her finest outings, chasing down a career-best 25 digs. Sophomore Sydney Gonzalez (24) joined Kenny as one of five Bears to snag double-digit digs on the evening.

Freshman Miranda Foster put up four kills and four blocks, and fellow rookie Lydia Pierce finished with four kills and three rejections. Sophomore Grace LaDelfa had seven kills and a pair of blocks.

Aside from the third set, when they made 11 errors, the Bears were consistently efficient on the attack. Ursinus hit .393 in the fourth set, smashing 14 kills in just 28 total attempts, and hit .238 in the second, .222 in the fifth, and .218 in the first.  

Ursinus and Penn State-Berks went the distance for the third time in four seasons, and the second straight meeting in Reading.

The Bears head to McDaniel on Saturday for a tri-match against the Green Terror and Randolph.