BRYN MAWR, Pa. - The Bryn Mawr volleyball team played their final home contest of 2016 earlier Tuesday night, and the Owls really made it count. Facing the current second-place team in the conference in Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr put together one of their best overall performances of the year. Despite ultimately falling 3-0 to the visitors, the Owls frustrated the Garnet all night long with incredibly clean receiving, challenging attacks, and a tremendous defensive performance. Allie Nagelski posted 21 digs on the night, Caroline Cosby netted five kills and a block, and Camille Baechler led the way with 11 kills on the night for Bryn Mawr. Swarthmore was led by Sarah Wallace and Mehra den Braven, each of whom tallied 13 kills.

Swarthmore (22-3, 8-1 CC) may have come into the night as a heavy favorite, but Bryn Mawr (3-17, 0-10) gave the visitors trouble right from the start. Two kills from Baechler got the Owls out to a quick 4-2 lead in the opening set. Later, several key errors by the Garnet helped Bryn Mawr tie things up at 8-8. After a mini-run by Swarthmore, four different Owls combined to tally kills and bring Bryn Mawr all the way back to another tie at 15-15. Swarthmore started to pull away a bit by winning three straight points, but a timeout by Bryn Mawr head coach Nicole Reiley kept the Owls right there, as Camille Baechler tallied yet another kill right out of the break in play. Baechler's sixth kill of the set brought the Owls back within three at 24-21, but Swarthmore was able to get the side out on the next point, with a kill from Wallace giving the Garnet the tight opening set.

Bryn Mawr once again got out to an early lead in the second set, as this time Cosby and Baechler each tallied a kill to put the Owls ahead 4-3. Swarthmore was able to turn things around relatively quicker this time, though, as the visitors got back in front with a three-point run and never looked back. Baechler and Jessie Zong would add a couple more kills, and a service error from the Garnet got Bryn Mawr back within 10-9. However, Swarthmore would put together a 9-1 run to put the second set virtually out of reach, and the visitors wound up winning the frame 25-15.

The Garnet looked to close out the match with a strong start of their own to the third set, as the visitors were able to jump out to an early lead. However, Bryn Mawr battled back immediately; Baechler got some big airtime to tally a stuff block in front, and then she and Sarah Whitten started posting kills. When the dust finally settled on the early stage in the set, Bryn Mawr held an 8-4 lead. The Owls continued to lead into the middle part of the frame, with another kill from Whitten and a cheeky kill from Nolan Julien on two keeping the hosts out in front. Swarthmore would not go down so easily however, as they put together a 9-2 run to vault ahead 16-13. Once again, a timely timeout from the Owls stopped the visitors' momentum, with five different errors from the flustered Swarthmore squad putting Bryn Mawr back in front 19-18. A huge ace from Baechler stretched that lead out to 20-18. Swarthmore leapfrogged back out in front after a timeout of their own, but Bryn Mawr hung right with the visitors thanks to a kill from Cosby. The Garnet got the first match point of the night on a kill from Bridget Scott, but Cosby put the Owls on her back one more time with a kill to make it 24-23. They fought off another match point on an attack error, and then Cosby gave the Owls a match point of their own thanks to a tremendous serve. Unfortunately, that lone opportunity would not go their way, as Swarthmore won the next three points to battle back and win the set 27-25, taking the match in 3-0 fashion.

The night still brought plenty of positives for the Owls, who gave the Garnet one of their toughest tests of the season. Bryn Mawr made just one receiving error all night against Swarthmore, who leads the conference in serving and averages over two-and-a-half aces per set. Bryn Mawr also tied their season-high with five blocks on the night, and did it impressively against a team that averages about three inches taller than themselves.

The Owls will now close out their 2016 campaign on the road this Saturday with one final tri-match. Bryn Mawr will travel to Abington for a pair of contests against Penn State Abington and Goucher. Game times on Saturday are set for 10 AM and 12 PM.