BRYN MAWR, Pa. - The Bryn Mawr volleyball team closed out their 2015 season earlier Saturday afternoon by hosting one last tri-match this year. The Owls welcomed the College of Staten Island and Penn State Abington to campus, and were also celebrating Senior Day and the careers of their five fantastic senior athletes. In the opening match of the day, Bryn Mawr bounced back from a rough first set to take a commanding 3-1 victory over Staten Island. In the second match of the day, Penn State Abington defeated the Dolphins in a 3-0 sweep. Bryn Mawr returned to the court in the third match to close out the day with a very solid 3-1 win over Penn State Abington.

Bryn Mawr (7-16, 1-9 CC) got off to a rocky start in the opening set of their first match, falling behind early by a score of 9-4. Kills from seniors Noemi Moreno, Rachel Ofili, and Megan Kilmer helped the Owls bounce back a bit, ultimately tying the set back up at 14-all. However, Staten Island (8-16, 3-5 CUNYAC) took back the lead and wouldn't give it up, ultimately winning the final three points of the set to take a 25-21 win in the frame.

The Owls would not be denied in this match however, as the hosts turned up the heat and won the final three sets played. In the second, it was Bryn Mawr who got out to the 9-4 advantage, but Staten Island took a 15-13 lead midway through the frame. A 5-0 run by Bryn Mawr, sparked by three straight kills from senior Sarah Gates, helped get the Owls back on top, and they would ultimately ride that advantage all the way to a 25-18 win in the set. The third and fourth sets were totally dominated by Bryn Mawr as well, as the Owls posted consecutive 25-9 victories to take the 3-1 win in the match. Ofili led all scorers in the match with an impressive 19 kills, while Gates chipped in another 13. Fellow senior Zoe Holman netted 34 assists in a very strong performance as the Owls primary setter.

After the Nittany Lions defeated Staten Island 3-0 in the middle match, it was the Owls' turn to take on Penn State Abington and try and close out their season with yet another win. Bryn Mawr was all over the visitors early, racing to a huge 25-14 win in the first set to take a commanding lead. The Owls posted a .303 hitting percentage in that first frame, and out-killed the Nittany Lions by a 15-5 margin.

The second and third sets were a much different story in the match, both being down to the wire back-and-forth affairs that the two teams ended up splitting. In the second set, Bryn Mawr saw an early 5-1 lead turned into an 8-6 deficit by some energetic defending and passing on the part of the Nittany Lions. The Owls responded with a rally of their own, taking a 17-13 lead thanks in part to kills from Ofili, Gates, and Moreno. Abington jumped back in front 19-17, but the Owls closed out the set on an 8-4 run to take a 25-23 win and a big 2-0 lead in the match. The third set was almost an exact mirror image of the second, as it was Bryn Mawr who held a late lead, only to see the Nittany Lions close out with an 8-4 run and take the frame by a 26-24 margin.

This day was just too important for the Owls, however, and ultimately Penn State Abington did not have a chance against this hungry Bryn Mawr squad. The Owls made just three errors in the fourth set against nine kills, and limited Penn State Abington to just seven kills of their own. In the end, Bryn Mawr pulled away to another 25-14 win in the set to close out their season with the 3-1 win. Ofili once again led the Owls with 20 kills in the match, and Gates added another 12. Holman tallied 37 assists in the match, and Moreno posted 21 digs and seven kills. On the day, Megan Kilmer racked up 17 digs and 11 kills.

Today's efforts are the cherry on top of what has been an incredible career for those five Bryn Mawr seniors. The Owls close the season with 8 wins, and this senior class has several big conference victories under their belts against strong teams like Ursinus, Washington College, Dickinson, and McDaniel.