Lions’ Rally Falls Short Against Bryn Mawr

MEDIA, Pennsylvania -- Brandywine fell behind 2-0, but rallied to win sets three and four before falling in the decisive fifth set and dropping a 3-2 decision to Bryn Mawr on Tuesday night.

The back-and-forth first set featured seven ties before Lauren Shue's kill gave the frame to Bryn Mawr by a 30-28 count. The Owls (5-7) led throughout the second set and pulled away late for a 25-17 triumph.

Brandywine took advantage of Bryn Mawr errors and used a kill from Kirsten Jerla (Springfield, Pa./Notre Dame) during a 6-1 run to take advantage in the third set. The Owls closed within four, but a service error ended the frame in Brandywine's favor, 25-21.

Back-to-back aces from Miranda Biondi (Newtown Square, Pa./Marple Newtown) and a kill by Nicole Costa (Lansdowne, Pa./Upper Darby) put Brandywine in front during the fourth set, 24-22. After the Owls knotted the count at 24-24, a kill by Halee Kusner (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) and Costa's block helped Brandywine even the match 2-2.

Bryn Mawr scored six of the first seven points of set No. 5, but Brandywine closed within 10-9 following an Owl miscue; however, the Owls closed out the set with the final five points to claim the match.

Brandywine was led by Nicole Poissant (Aston, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara), who paced the team with 16 kills and 19 digs. Jerla added 10 kills, while Kusner produced nine.

Biondi registered 45 assists, four aces and 15 digs. Emily Battista (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown) added 16 digs and two aces, while Kim Russo (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) collected 13 digs and Kelsi Wiest (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) had 12 digs.

Brandywine (7-2) continues its three-game homestand on Thursday with a nonconferene tilt against Moravian at 7:00 pm.