COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College volleyball team put up a spirited performance on Homecoming, playing a previously unbeaten Gettysburg squad to the hilt in a four-set loss before coming back to sweep Penn State Brandywine.

The Bears (6-9, 0-3) rallied from two sets down to claim the third and nearly forced a deciding fifth frame before coming up just short in a 25-19, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23 loss to the Bullets (11-1, 1-1), who suffered their first loss of the season earlier in the week.

Ursinus gave the orange and blue all they could handle, challenging Gettysburg in a pair of tight sets to open the proceedings. The Bears' grit paid off in the third set, when they trailed 13-6 before rampaging back into the match.

Seven consecutive points went the way of Ursinus, which included two kills by sophomore Emily Harris and an ace from senior Sydney Gonzalez. The Bears were still down 20-18 before making another move late, this time a streak of four straight that made it 22-20 in favor of the hosts. A series of errors by the Bullets set up back-to-back clinching kills by freshman Olivia DeBonte as Ursinus forced a fourth set.

Gettysburg got out to another huge lead, this time at 13-4. Again the Bears came roaring back, three times pulling within a single point. The last came on Gonzalez' ace that made it 24-23, but the Bullets won it on their third match point.

Sophomore Paige DeAlba paced the Bears with 10 kills, while junior Kelly Piotrowicz had 25 assists, 17 digs, and six kills. DeBonte had nine kills and Harris produced seven, with Gonzalez (20) and sophomore Grace Sullivan (19) combining for almost 40 digs. Ursinus had 11 aces in the match, spread among seven players.

Ursinus got the best of three close sets against Penn State Brandywine in the first career coaching meeting between Bears head coach Cecily Scavicchio and older sister Fabiana Scavicchio-Fields.

Piotrowicz compiled a triple-double with 14 assists, 14 digs, and 12 kills as Ursinus staved off the Lions for a 25-20, 25-22, 25-20 triumph. She also had two aces and a pair of assisted blocks.

DeAlba tallied 11 assists and 10 kills for the Bears, and Sullivan racked up a career-high 31 digs.

The volleyball team resumes conference play next Wednesday at home against Dickinson.