CLAREMONT, CA - In what proved to be a challenging opening weekend, the Union women's volleyball team dropped its final two matches of the weekend against University of La Verne (15-25, 16-25, 20-25) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (17-25, 25-22, 15-25, 13-25) yesterday. Despite the box scores, the Dutch showed signs of brilliance and promise for the 2017 season.

Match One: Gillian Gore continues to dominate for the Dutchwomen's offense, with a match high 11 kills, while also completing a double-double on the day with 10 digs. Sage Shimamoto provided 16 assists and Brianne Hallock lead the defense with 21 digs. La Verne responded to the Union pressure, consistently, putting the ball away 35 times for an attack percentage of .232 compared to Union's .060.

Match Two: Julia Louis (10 kills) and Lara Atalay (9 kills) lead the offense during match two. Atalay held up the other end of the bargain on defense, along with Hallock, who each had 13 digs. The Royals' attackers proved to be the match maker to the Dutchwomen with 61 kills. Bethel's Kristin Stern had 21 kills to add to the team's match attacking percentage of .374. Bethel's defense dug nearly half of Union's attack attempts. 

Union returns to action next Friday, Sept. 8 for its home opener at the Viniar Center against Williams College at 4 p.m. This match will be a part of the Union Invitational which will take place over the course of Sept. 8 & 9.

Stat of The Day
12 - Freshman Gillian Gore is averaging 12 kills per match.