SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – First-year Shannon McGrath and junior Nikki Newcomer combined for 37 kills to lead the Union College women's volleyball team to its first Liberty League victory of the season, a 3-1 (25-23, 25-22, 19-25, 25-18) win over local rival Skidmore College on Saturday afternoon at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
McGrath had a huge effort for Union (7-5, 1-1 Liberty League), putting down a season-high 20 kills with two errors on 38 attempts to go with 12 digs for a second straight double-double. Her .474 hitting percentage is the highest for a Union player with 20 or more kills since October 25, 2014, when Rachel Wyman '16 hit .639 (24-1-36) against RIT.
 
Newcomer also came up big for the home team, notching a career-high 17 kills and adding six digs, and classmate Keara Page added 11 kills. First-year Georgia Pool led all players with a season-best 23 digs to go with five assists and five service aces, while the tandem of senior Haley Kresch (20 assists, eight digs) and junior Brooke Fleming (28 assists, six digs) did well distributing the ball on the afternoon.
 
No team led by more four points in a very close first set, which featured 10 ties. Skidmore (2-9, 0-2 Liberty League) took an early 5-2 lead, but Union scored three in a row to tie the score and the teams remained within striking distance for much of the frame. Down 22-21 after a Skidmore kill, the home team got a Pool ace followed soon after by kills from junior Caroline Fraser and McGrath to pull out a close first set.
 
The second set was the most pivotal of the day and arguably the closest, with the teams trading the lead 10 times with 12 ties. The deficit did not get above two for either side until back-to-back Newcomer kills and a Skidmore error put Union up 20-16. The Thoroughbreds would get no closer than two the rest of the way, with McGrath adding two kills to help finish off the set.
 
Union held an 11-5 lead early in the third set looking for the sweep, but Skidmore had other ideas. An extended 13-3 run gave the visitors the lead and Union could not string together back-to-back points the rest of the way to keep the match going.
 
The fourth set featured only one lead change, but that was all Union needed to secure the win. Skidmore led for the early portion of the set before a block by McGrath and senior Julia Webster gave the home team its first lead at 8-7. That block started a 11-1 run that put Union in firm control up 17-8, and Skidmore got no closer than five the rest of the way.
 
Union finished the match hitting .255 as a team with 58 kills and 22 errors on 141 attacks. Skidmore ended the day at .273 with 54 kills and 15 errors on 143 attempts.
 
Union will finish off its extended homestand on Wednesday with another key Liberty League matchup against Vassar College beginning at 6 p.m. at Viniar Athletic Center.