kelley
Carey Action Photography
Brenna Kelley transitioned to the setter position with 60 assists
2
Marywood MU 0-1,0-0 Atlantic East
3
Winner Gwynedd Mercy GM 2-0,0-0 Atlantic East
Marywood MU
0-1,0-0 Atlantic East
2
Final
3
Gwynedd Mercy GM
2-0,0-0 Atlantic East
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Marywood MU 26 13 25 24 10 (2)
Gwynedd Mercy GM 15 25 22 26 15 (3)
3
Winner Marywood MU 1-1,0-0 Atlantic East
2
Gwynedd Mercy GM 2-1,0-0 Atlantic East
Winner
Marywood MU
1-1,0-0 Atlantic East
3
Final
2
Gwynedd Mercy GM
2-1,0-0 Atlantic East
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Marywood MU 25 25 11 24 15 (3)
Gwynedd Mercy GM 23 21 25 26 13 (2)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Jay Monahan, Assistant Director of Sports Information

Volleyball Welcomes Back Marywood Athletics with Five-Set Thrillers

Marywood splits pair with Griffins; Pacers play first official game since Covid-19 pandemic shutdown last year

Gwynedd Valley, Pa. — Forest Green and Gold was worn on a playing field for the first time in nearly a full calendar year. The women's volleyball team played in the first official Marywood University contests since the Covid-19 pandemic encumbered NCAA Division III intercollegiate athletics. 

The Pacers split a pair of thrilling five-set matches with Atlantic East Conference rival Gwynedd Mercy University on Saturday. The Griffins ended a 14-game losing streak to the Pacers with a 3-2 victory in the first match. Marywood responded with a 3-2 victory of its own in a three-hour nightcap. 

Marywood 3, Gwynedd Mercy 2

Marywood earned its first victory of the truncated season. The Pacers won by scores of 25-23, 25-21, 11-25, 24-26, 15-11. 

Senior Sam Compton's domination at the service line propelled the Pacers over the Griffins. Compton tallied eight aces to couple eight kills for a team-high 16-point effort. She contributed defensively with 18 digs. Her eight aces tie for the fifth-most in modern-day program history. 

Fellow senior Brenna Kelley assumed setter duties to quarterback the offense to victory. Kelley racked 31 assists and 18 digs at her new position. 

Angela Cleary made her Marywood debut with 27 digs. Fellow first-year student Amanda Perri garnered 13 digs. 

Emily O'Brien sparked the Marywood offense with nine kills. Casey Hagerstrom added eight kills for a team-high .133 attack percentage. 

Gwynedd Mercy (2-1) had a pair of 14-kill performances from Ashley Brown and Aybria Purnell. Cait Saalfrank contributed 26 digs and nine aces. 

In the first set, the Pacers trailed 16-12 before a six-point run on Evangeline Kelly serves. Kelly evened the score with an ace and took a 18-16 advantage with her second of the stretch. Both teams traded leads, and the Griffins broke two straight set points to move within 24-23. Perri closed the point with a kill form Rebecca Klemovitch. 

Gwynedd Mercy raced out to a similar lead with a 15-9 advantage in the second. Trailing 21-20, Marywood finished the set with five consecutive points on Kelly serves. Compton tied the match at 21 apiece with a kill. After a pair of Kelly aces, Marywood earned the point on a Griffins' attack error. 

The Griffins were able to hold on to their leads in the next two sets to force a deciding fifth set. Gwynedd Mercy won the fourth with blocks by Kaylee Craig and Jessica Schreiber. 

Once again, Marywood found itself looking up in the last set, falling behind 6-1 and 12-5. Marywood won 10 of the last 11 points to finish off the Griffins. Klemovitch and O'Brien had a double block to trim Marywood's deficit to 12-9. After Gwynedd Mercy tacked on a point to go ahead 13-9, the Pacers won the last six points on Kelley serves to claim the win. A Compton kill clinched the victory. 

Gwynedd Mercy 3, Marywood 2

Marywood's return to sports was met with a loss by scores of 15-25, 25-13, 22-25, 26-24, 15-10. 

Sam Compton led the Pacers offensively with 10 kills and 15 digs for a double-double. Compton added six aces. Casey Hagerstrom had nine kills and four solo blocks in her first match in Pacers' colors. 

Brenna Kelley contributed team-bests in assists (29) and digs (17). Evangeline Kelly quadrupled her career-high with 16 digs. Kelley and Kelly each totaled five aces. 

Marywood welcomes Neumann University to the Insalaco Arena on Saturday, March 13.
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