SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Junior Shannon McGrath put down a season-best 18 kills and added a career-high 25 digs to lead the Union College women's volleyball team to a 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-21) victory over Western New England University in non-conference action on Friday night at the Caprio Alumni Center.
 
McGrath had an excellent night for Union (19-8), hitting .246 with 18 kills and only two errors to go with five service aces and her 25 digs. Sophomore Maddie McCarron also reached double figures with 11 kills and added a match-high five blocks, and first-year Allie Kronenberg came one dig short of a double-double with 39 assists and nine digs along with four aces and three kills. In addition, junior Georgia Pool registered a career-high 36 digs for the visitors, the most for a Union player in a four-set match since Kat Moeller '17 had 37 digs against St. Michael's College on September 13, 2014.
 
Western New England (19-7) led by as many as seven in the opening frame, jumping out to an early 12-5 lead. The Garnet Chargers slowly tried to chip away at the deficit and killed off two set points to get back within a point at 24-23, but the Golden Bears succeeded on their third set point to take the opener.
 
The home team started the second stanza with the lead as well, but two blocks and a kill by McCarron keyed an 8-0 run that put the visitors ahead by a 12-6 margin. Then it was WNE's turn to try and chase down the lead; while the home team also got back to within a point at 24-23, an attack error gave Union the second set and evened the match.
 
The teams traded leads early in the crucial third set, but Union used an 15-2 run to take a commanding 21-10 lead on the way to a win. McGrath led the team with four kills in the frame.
 
The fourth set was the closest of the night, with neither side leading by more than three points until the final point. The Golden Bears led for almost the entirety of the set, with the last lead coming at 20-18 after a pair of kills. But the Garnet Chargers closed the set and the match on a 7-1 run, getting two kills from McCarron and one from McGrath to help close out the victory.
 
Union will finish off the regular season slate tomorrow with two tough tests at Smith College, taking on AVCA #4 Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 2 p.m. and the host Pioneers at 4 p.m.