WESTMINSTER, Md. – The Ursinus College volleyball team split a doubleheader at McDaniel on Saturday, rebounding from a Centennial Conference sweep at the hands of the host Green Terror to outlast Randolph in a five-set thriller.
The Bears (8-7, 1-4) came back from a set down and fought off three match points against Randolph, eventually prevailing in a 19-25, 25-23, 25-21, 16-25, 17-15 tug-of-war. Junior outside hitter Allison Raff paired 21 kills with 26 digs, her second 20-20 effort in her last three matches, and freshman Kelly Piotrowicz again came within a whisker of a triple-double on the strength of 28 assists, 21 digs, and nine kills.
Sophomore Sydney Gonzalez chased down a team-best 29 digs against Randolph, and senior Emily van Mulbregt handed out 15 assists.
Trailing 14-12 in the decisive fifth set, sophomore Grace LaDelfa and Raff produced back-to-back kills to keep the Bears alive. The Wildcats earned another match point but gave it back on an error, and another kill off the spike of Raff handed Ursinus a match point. Senior Danielle Kenny made it count, serving an ace to close out the pulse-pounding victory.
The Bears served 11 aces in the match, five of them from Piotrowicz and another three from Gonzalez. Raff led the blocking effort with three, and LaDelfa finished with a season-high nine kills and chipped in five digs to supplement the attacking of Raff and Piotrowicz.
The victory was Ursinus' first in a five-set match this season and first since edging Immaculata, 3-2, last September.
Ursinus struggled against McDaniel, the defending CC champion, falling by a 25-13, 25-17, 25-12 count. Raff recorded 14 digs and eight kills, but she was the only Bear with a positive hitting percentage; Ursinus made 24 errors to just 23 kills for an .010 overall number. Piotrowicz collected seven kills and ten assists, while Gonzalez posted 12 digs.
The Green Terror (10-9, 2-1) hit .278 for the match.
The volleyball team kicks off a four-game home stand with a CC game against Haverford on Wednesday, October 5.