ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- The Moravian College women's volleyball team split its final two matches of the 2016 Landmark Conference regular season Friday evening with the Greyhounds dropping a 3-1 decision to the University of Scranton before a 3-1 victory over host Elizabethtown College in the tri-match.
In the Greyhounds' opening match of the evening against Scranton, the Blue and Grey trailed 18-11 in the first set before junior libero Jean Markovic and freshman defensive specialist Alexis Szaro served Moravian into a 20-20 tie. However, the Royals scored five of the final seven points to take a 25-22 win. The second set would be close early before Scranton took a 2-0 lead with a 25-15 triumph.
The third set started back-and-forth and was knotted at 5-5 when Markovic and freshman setter Victoria Kauffman took turns behind the service line to give the Greyhounds a 13-6 lead. Moravian went on to capture a 25-18 set victory. In the fourth game, the Royals turned a 3-3 tie into an 18-8 advantage. After a timeout, junior outside hitter Mary Zacher took over on the serve and pulled the Hounds within 18-14. Moravian closed the gap more to 20-17 before Scranton score the final five points it needed to win the match by taking the set, 25-20.
Senior middle hitter Taylor Kornmann led the Blue and Grey in the match with 13 kills to go with six blocks. Freshman outside hitter Brooke Kusmider had nine kills and five digs while Zacher finished with nine kills and 15 digs. Sophomore middle hitter Erin Tiger had five kills and four digs for the Greyhounds while Kauffman added 31 assists, six digs, four blocks and a pair of service aces.
Markovic posted a team-high 26 digs while Szaro added seven digs. Sophomore defensive specialist Bridgette Devlin contributed eight digs in the match.
Moravian, now 13-11 overall and 2-4 for its Landmark Conference schedule, won the opening set, 25-23, over the host Blue Jays. The Hounds had an early lead that they stretched to 14-8 only to see Elizabethtown score 10 straight points to take an 18-14 edge. The Blue and Grey responded and pulled back ahead for the win. The Greyhounds controlled the second set with a 25-14 triumph but the Blue Jays countered with a 25-19 victory in the third set. Moravian clinched the match with a 25-12 win in the fourth set.
Kusmider led the Greyhounds in the final match with 12 kills to go with four digs, three service aces and a pair of blocks. Zacher added nine kills, five digs, four assists and a pair of blocks while Kornmann had eight kills and three blocks. Tiger contributed four kills and four blocks while senior right side hitter Jaclyn Smith had three kills and three blocks.
Kauffman picked up another 35 assists for the Hounds to go with five digs, three kills and a pair of service aces while Markovic added 20 digs. Junior defensive specialist Ashton Galasso had three service aces while Szaro and Devlin each had four digs with Szaro adding a pair of service aces.
Moravian is scheduled to return to action on Wednesday, October 19 when the squad hosts Marywood University in a non-conference match in Johnston Hall beginning at 7:00 p.m. It will be Senior Day for the Greyhounds as they play their final home contest of the season.
