SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College women's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on the second and final day of the 2021 Union Invitational, falling to Suffolk University by a 3-1 score and dropping a 3-0 decision to Springfield College at the Viniar Athletic Center.
 
Sophomore Morgan Bohlke led the Dutchwomen with 15 kills on the day, while senior Jessica Siragusa made the move to outside hitter and put down 13 kills in the two matches. Sophomore Meredith Blinn led the defensive effort with a team-leading 31 digs in the seven sets, while junior Haley Kresch had a team-best 30 assists on the day as well.
 
Suffolk 3, Union 1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-15)
 
Union won the first set of the day against Suffolk, but the Rams came back to take the final three frames to pick up the victory. Siragusa just missed a double-double with 10 digs and a career-best nine kills, while Bohlke hit .353 with eight kills.
 
The Rams jumped out to an early lead and kept it for much of the frame, building their lead to as many as seven points at 14-7. The visitors still held a healthy lead at 17-11 before Union stormed back, scoring seven straight points on the serve of senior Olivia Salvador to take an 18-17 advantage. A Siragsua kill and two Kresch service aces helped the home team close out the frame.
 
Suffolk again started strongly in the second set, building an early 7-2 lead. The Dutchwomen came back to tie the score on five occasions, but could never get back in front. Tied at 17, Suffolk scored eight of the frame's final 11 points to knot the match at one.
 
The Dutchwomen again had to play from behind for most of the third set, and once again had trouble getting over the hump. Facing their largest deficit at 18-10, Union went on a 10-2 run to tie the score at 20 and again at 21-all, but two attack errors helped the Rams escape with the 2-1 lead, and Suffolk went on the claim the match with a fourth-set win.
 
Springfield 3, Union 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-19)
The Dutchwomen ran into an undefeated Springfield squad in their second match of the day, rallying from early deficits in the first two sets but ultimately coming short in each set. Sophomore Caroline Fraser led the team with eight kills on .316 hitting in a losing effort.
 
Following a similar script from the Suffolk match, the Pride came out strong in the first set. Down by as many as 10 points at 18-8, Union hung tough and strung together seven straight points to get within three at 18-15, but five straight Pride points helped give Springfield the first set.
 
After Springfield took an early lead, Union played its best volleyball midway through the second set, turning a 6-1 deficit into a 14-10 lead. Kresch had a team-best three kills during the run, which gave Union its largest lead of the match. However a timeout calmed down the Pride, and the visitors responded with 10 straight points to quickly regain control. Springfield never trailed in the third set on the way to the sweep.
 
The Dutchwomen continue their prolonged homestand on Wednesday with a match against Castleton University starting at 6 p.m. at Viniar Athletic Center.