BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College women's volleyball team opened its 2016 season with a pair of wins in the 14th Annual Greyhound Premiere Tournament in Johnston Hall as the Hounds swept Centenary College, 3-0, and rallied for a 3-2 win over Medaille (N.Y.) College.
"It is really exciting to come out and win that second match, especially in five with a bunch of freshmen on the court at match point," stated Head Coach Shelley Bauder. "We're excited about what tomorrow is going to hold. I'm proud of the players for coming back. It is good starting the year at 2-0."
In the first contest of the season, Moravian topped the Cyclones, 25-4, 25-11, 25-5 for a quick start to the campaign. Sophomore middle blocker Erin Tiger led the Blue and Grey with eight kills and a pair of blocks while junior outside hitter Mary Zacher added six kills and three service aces. Senior right side hitter Jaclyn Smith added four kills while freshman outside hitter Brooke Kusmider, freshman outside hitter Hailee Yoder and freshman setter Victoria Kauffman all had three kills.
Kauffman paced the Moravian offense with 24 assists while Kusmider recorded eight service aces as the Greyhounds scored 18 of their 75 points on service aces. Junior libero Jean Markovic had a team-high six digs while junior defensive specialist Ashton Galasso and sophomore defensive specialist Bridgette Devlin each added three digs. Senior middle blocker Taylor Kornmann had a pair of kills and a pair of service aces in the win.
The Greyhounds would rally to win the final two sets versus Medaille to take the match by set scores of 18-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 15-13. Tiger and Zacher each had 16 kills in the contest with Zacher adding 19 digs. Smith and Kusmider each had six kills with Smith tacking on two service aces and two blocks while Kusmider had nine digs. Markovic led Moravian with 25 digs and three service aces while Kormann contributed 12 kill and three service aces. Kauffman had 51 assists and six digs.
Moravian will be back in action on Saturday, September 3 in the second day of the 14th Annual Greyhound Premiere as the Blue and Grey take on Alvernia University at 12:00 p.m. and Pitt-Bradford at 2:00 p.m.
