HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Union College women's volleyball team finished off the opening weekend with a split of two matches on day two of the Haverford College Invitational on Saturday at Calvin J. Gooding Arena. The Garnet Chargers dropped a hard-fought 3-1 match to the host Fords to start the day, but came back for a 3-1 win over Lebanon Valley College.
 
Senior Shannon McGrath led Union offensively, recording 38 kills in the eight sets to earn All-Tournament Team honors. Sophomore Allie Kronenberg registered 91 assists on the day and senior Georgia Pool led the squad with 37 digs.
 
Haverford 3, Union 1 (26-28, 25-20, 25-18, 25-19)
 
McGrath had an excellent effort to lead Union against Haverford, putting down a match-high 18 kills on .340 hitting. Sophomore Kayla Martinez Cartagena recorded a career-best nine kills, followed by juniors Maddie McCarron and Shelby McKim (on .462 hitting) with eight kills apiece. McCarron also chipped in a match-high seven blocks, Kronenberg dished out a match-leading 41 assists, and Pool had a team-best 24 digs.
 
The Fords built up a 9-4 lead early in the opening frame before McGrath had three kills as part of a 7-0 run that gave the visitors their first advantage, and the teams remained within two points for the rest of the way. Haverford staved off three set points as the Garnet Chargers kept the pressure on, but a McGrath kill brought up a fourth set point and a Haverford error gave Union the win.
 
Haverford evened the match with a second-set win despite putting down only nine kills, thanks in large part to seven service aces. The home team returned to form with 16 kills in the third stanza, jumping out to a 6-0 lead and never allowing Union back to even to take a 2-1 lead. Union struggled to string together points for much of the fourth frame and never earned a lead. A brief 3-0 run got the visitors back within three at 19-16, but Haverford closed on a 5-3 run to end the match.
 
Union hit .245 on the day with 50 kills and 16 errors, while Haverford hit .217 with 57 kills and also benefited from a decisive 17-4 edge in service aces.
 
Union 3, Lebanon Valley 1 (25-21, 25-15, 19-25, 25-21)
 
Kronenberg posted a career-high 50 assists for the Garnet Chargers in their first win of the year, the first Union player to record 50 or more in a match since Sage Shimamoto '21 in 2019. Twenty of those assists came off McGrath kills, as the senior led all players and reached the 20-kill mark for the fifth time in her career while also adding 14 digs for her second double-double of the young season. McCarron and McKim both added 10 kills apiece and first-year Shea Ringel chipped in nine kills as well.
 
Union put down an impressive 20 kills on .280 hitting in the opening frame, with McGrath leading all players with eight and McCarron adding five. The Garnet Chargers had an easier time in the second set, using a 7-1 run midway through the frame to open up a 14-7 advantage and keeping the lead no lower than five the rest of the way.
 
LVC came back with a win in the third set and then led by as many as six points in the fourth set, holding a 16-10 lead. However, Union charged back with eight straight points as part of an extended 11-1 run that put the Garnet Chargers back in control and allowed the team to pull out the win.
 
Union will return to Schenectady for its first home match of the season on Friday with a 6 p.m. contest against Russell Sage College at Viniar Athletic Center.