Bryn Mawr College

BRYN MAWR, Pa. – The Bryn Mawr volleyball team hosted its home opener as it took on Penn State-Abington and Penn State Brandywine in a tri-match inside the Class of 1958 Gymnasium on Saturday. The Owls battled hard throughout both bouts but fell 3-1 in both legs of the tri-match.
 
Highlights against Penn State-Abington:

• Penn State Abington (2-1) and Bryn Mawr (0-3) were locked in a back-and-forth contest in the early stages of the first set. Abigail Quigley was a standout during the exchange, tallying a pair of kills in the early goings. With the Lions holding a 10-7 lead, Bryn Mawr grabbed hold of the momentum with a 6-1 run that saw aces from Felicia Torrico and Quigley. A strong surge from the visitors gave them the lead once more as they closed out the set, 25-21.
• The Owls responded quickly in the second set, jumping ahead to an 8-4 lead with kills from Adelaide Grace, Emma Loller and Quigley. Penn State-Abington clawed back at the lead before a four-point run from the home side put the Owls up 16-11. BMC fended off the Lions in the latter half of the set, leveling the match with a 25-20 win in the second frame.
• Set three proved to be a battle of the momentum swings as both sides notched multiple runs of four points or more. The earliest run came from the home team as the Owls posted four-straight to take a 6-4 lead early on. The Lions countered with a 7-1 run that put the visitors ahead. Bryn Mawr quickly responded with yet another four-point swing to tie the frame at 11-11. A five-point run from Penn State-Abington near the end of the set put the comeback attempt just out of reach for the Owls, who dropped the set 25-20.
• The fourth set started in similar fashion to the third, as BMC took a 6-4 lead early. The remainder of the set saw back-and-forth action before a six-point run from the Lions helped close out the match, 25-21.
• Charolette Mullen posted 31 assists in the match while Loller ended the contest with 11 kills. Amanda Hughes and Quigley tied for second on the team with nine apiece.

 
Highlights against Penn State-Brandywine:

• Penn State-Brandywine (1-2) grabbed hold of the lead early in the contest, however the Owls kept the Lions within arm's reach for much of the set. The back-and-forth set saw the visitors slowly extend their lead throughout the frame as they eventually took a 21-16 lead. Back-to-back errors from the Lions, followed by a kill from Quigley and an ace from Amelia Chen put the Owls within 1. PSU-Brandywine got one point back before a 5-1 run completed the comeback for the Owls.
• The second set saw a handful of back-and-forth lead exchanges, with both sides recording several multi-point runs. It was ultimately a 6-1 run from the Lions that closed out the set and leveled the match heading into the third. Five different Owls recorded kills in the frame, including Tula Reihman who notched back-to-back in the middle of the set.
• Penn State Brandywine kept its momentum heading into the third, jumping out to an early lead. Solid defensive play at the net along with more stellar serving from Chen saw Bryn Mawr close the gap before a late surge from the Lions put the visitors ahead 2-1 with a 25-14 set win.
• Bryn Mawr found itself fighting from behind to start the fourth but was quickly able to match the Lions tempo as a kill from Reihman and an ace from Torrico helped to tie the set at 5-5. Penn State Brandywine slowly began to pull away throughout the set, eventually holding a 24-17 lead and looking to end the game. The Owls didn't go down without a fight, as a kill from Julia Zimmerman-Boyer and an ace from Omi Oliver pulled BMC within four. The comeback was too-little, too-late as the Lions held on to take a 3-1 win over the hosts.
• Chen highlighted a fantastic game and the service line for the Owls, recording five of the team's nine aces. Loller tallied a team-high nine kills while Quigley followed closely behind with eight. Mullen finished the bout with 22 assists and 53 total on the day.

The Owls are back in action inside the Class of 1958 Gymnasium as they host Delaware Valley on Wednesday, September 9 at 7 p.m.