BOSTON, Mass. – The Union College volleyball team split a pair of matches on Saturday in Boston, falling to host Suffolk University by a 3-0 score before coming back to defeat Fitchburg State University by the same score.
Junior
Keara Page led Union (9-8) with 17 kills in the two matches, followed closely by first-year
Shannon McGrath with 16 kills. First-year
Georgia Pool led the team with 18 digs on the day, while senior
Haley Kresch had 10 service aces in six sets for the Dutchwomen.
Suffolk 3, Union 0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-21)
Page and McGrath led the team with 10 kills apiece in the first match of the day against Suffolk, with McGrath also adding seven digs and a match-high five service aces.
The Rams used a 10-1 run midway through the opening set to take control, keeping Union from getting any closer than four points the rest of the way. The second set followed a similar script, with five straight points turning a 13-10 lead into an 18-10 advantage that proved too much to overcome. The visitors held a lead at 13-12 midway through the third set, but a 7-2 stretch gave the Rams back the lead and a late Union run came up just short.
Union 3, Fitchburg State 0 (25-12, 25-9, 25-14)
Union had no trouble in its second match against Fitchburg State, making only eight hitting errors and putting down 25 service aces in the three-set sweep. Kresch led the way with 10 aces and 12 assists for an unconventional double-double, while Page led the team with seven kills.
Kresch appropriately started the match with a service ace as Union jumped out to an early 7-1 lead, but FSU came back to take a 10-9 lead before Union quickly reasserted itself with a 16-2 run to take the opening set. Union again started quickly in the second stanza with an 11-3 run and this time did not let the Falcons back into it, closing with a 10-2 run to take a two-set lead. The third set was more of the same, with a 10-3 start giving Union plenty of cushion to cruise to a win.
Union will now head into the bulk of its Liberty League slate beginning next Saturday with a 2 p.m. match at Ithaca College.
