SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College women's volleyball team split a pair of matches at its home tri-match on Saturday afternoon at Viniar Athletic Center, dropping a 3-2 Liberty League match to Vassar College before coming back to sweep SUNY Cobleskill.
 
Junior Shannon McGrath put down a team-best 17 kills on the afternoon, followed by sophomore Shelby McKim with 13 kills and four blocks. First-year Melody Herrin led the squad with five blocks on the day, and junior Georgia Pool added a team-leading 28 digs in eight sets.
 
Vassar 3, Union 2 (25-19, 25-13, 19-25, 9-25, 15-4)
 
The first match of the day was a disappointing one for the Garnet Chargers, as their attempt at a reverse sweep came up short in the final set of a 3-2 loss. McGrath posted a double-double of 11 kills and 10 digs and McKim added 10 kills on .600 hitting, while Vassar's Maura McAusland led all players with 17 kills.
 
The day started poorly for the Garnet Chargers, as Vassar scored the first seven points of the match and never trailed in taking the opening set. The Brewers also led for almost the entirely on the second set, as Union managed only seven kills in falling into a two-set hole.
 
The home team attempted to dig out of the hole with a match-best 12 kills in the third set, jumping out to an early 6-2 lead to keep the match alive. Union forced a decisive fifth-set with a dominating performance in the fourth frame, ending on a 16-3 run to take the set.
 
The momentum died in the fifth frame, however, as the Brewers scored the first four points and six of the first seven before closing with eight straight points.
 
Union 3, SUNY Cobleskill (25-10, 25-12, 25-7)
 
Union bounced back against SUNY Cobleskill later in the day, hitting .329 on the way to a three-set sweep of the Fighting Tigers. Eleven different players had at least one kill in the win, led by McGrath with six and first-years Kayla Martinez Cartagena and Herrin with five each.
 
The Garnet Chargers used a 9-0 run to take control of the opening frame, and then hit a blistering .433 (16 kills on 30 attacks) in the second set to take a two-set advantage. The third set was not close, with Union scoring 11 straight points as part of a match-closing 16-1 stretch.
 
Union will be back in action next weekend, hosting Clarkson University and St. Lawrence University for an important Liberty League weekend beginning on Friday at 7 p.m. at Viniar Athletic Center.