BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College women's volleyball team topped Marywood University, 3-2, on Friday night at Johnston Hall in pool play of the 11th Annual Greyhound Premiere Invitational.
The five-set thriller featured some impressive runs and back-and-forth rallies, but the Greyhounds (2-0) eventually took the fifth and final set, 15-9, to advance to the championship round of their invitational on Saturday morning. Marywood was victorious in the first set, 25-23, before Moravian came storming back to take the next two sets, 25-16 and 25-20. The Pacers won the fourth set, 25-23, to force the shortened final game.
"That was a very scrappy team," said Head Coach Shelley Bauder. "I'm pleased with how we came out so aggressive. Our outside hitters finished the ball very well."
One of those hitters was junior Taylor Jennings, who finished the marathon match with 18 kills on a .286 hitting percentage. Sophomore Lauren Hostetler picked up 16 kills, while sophomore Victoria Bobyak and freshman Taylor Kornmann recorded 14 and 11 kills, respectively.
Senior setter Kelly Brown capped a successful first day of the 2013 season with 54 assists and 11 digs in the night match. The team captain's court vision made Moravian's versatile attack possible.
"It's key to see who can hit in the gap, who can hit with speed and who can hit between the blockers," Bauder said. "Kelly has the vision to do that."
After winning the opening match of the tournament in straight sets, the Greyhounds received a wake-up call in the first set with Marywood on Friday night. Despite a 5-0 Moravian run to tie the score at 22, the Pacers pushed ahead to take the first set.
"We weren't jelling well in the first set," Bauder said. "We were right there until the end and had some key misses. I was a little more disappointed in losing the fourth set, when we didn't finish strong."
Bauder didn't have to worry about finishing strong in the deciding set. Moravian scored five of the final seven points to clinch the tournament win. The triumph again featured consistent serving from sophomore Megan Szkolnicki and stellar passing and defense from freshman libero Kim Groff, who notched 22 digs.
The 21st-year head coach admitted her team had to battle through fatigue as the night match finished well after 9 p.m. There's not much time to rest, however, as Moravian returns to Johnston Hall on Saturday, August 31 at 10 a.m. against York College (2-0). The championship round concludes at 2 p.m. Saturday when the Greyhounds face Swarthmore College (2-0).
