POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Senior Shannon McGrath led the Union College women's volleyball team with 20 kills as the Garnet Chargers came back from a 2-1 deficit to outlast Vassar College in a huge 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 27-29, 25-18, 15-13) Liberty League victory on Saturday afternoon at Kenyon Hall.
 
The win keeps Union (14-8, 3-1 Liberty League) firmly in third place in the conference standings at the midway point of its slate, now two games up on Vassar (13-6, 2-3 Liberty League) and two others in fourth place with three losses.
 
McGrath had another solid game as the team's primary offensive weapon, putting down 20 kills on .211 hitting to go with 12 digs and five service aces. Junior Maddie McCarron hit .346 with 13 kills on 26 swings while adding eight blocks, while sophomores Melody Herrin and Georgia Pinciaro chipped in nine and eight kills, respectively. Senior Georgia Pool dug out a team-leading 18 balls to pace the team defensively and sophomore Allie Kronenberg dished out 46 assists for the visitors as well as seven blocks, two kills and 13 digs.
 
McGrath came out of the gates hot for Union, putting down eight kills as the visitors took the opening set. After remaining close to start the first set, the teams exchanged several mini-runs. Vassar used an 8-3 stint to take a 22-19 lead but the last – and decisive – run went to the Garnet Chargers as Union recorded six of the final seven points, thanks to kills by McGrath and McCarron as well as two McCarrron-Kronenberg blocks.
 
The roles reversed in the second stanza, as Union led by a 20-17 score before Vassar rattled off an 8-2 run to even the match. The third set needed more than 25 points to decide, with the visitors fending off four set points before the Brewers finally won two in a row to take a 2-1 lead.
 
Union jumped out to an early 9-3 lead in the fourth set, fighting to keep their hopes alive. Vassar fought back to with three at 17-14, but two Vassar errors and a McGrath ace bumped the lead back up to six and the Garnet Chargers were content to trade points on the way to a fifth frame.
 
Kills by McCarron and McGrath helped Union out to a 4-0 lead to start the final set, and the visitors never trailed. Two big kills from first-year Shea Ringel helped to bring up match point at 14-10 and, after Vassar made things interesting with three straight points, Kronenberg finished off the match with a dump kill.
 
Neither team hit particularly well on the afternoon thanks to a combined 29 blocks, with Union's .149 hitting on 57 kills slightly better than Vassar's .145 hitting on 62 kills.
 
Union will head to the North Country for two conference matches next weekend, beginning with a 7 p.m. matchup at St. Lawrence University on Friday night.