Brandywine Falls In Four At Bryn Mawr

BRYN MAWR, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine was dealt a 3-1 (20-25, 19-25, 25-18, 14-25) non-conference volleyball defeat at Bryn Mawr College on Wednesday night.

Brandywine fought back-and-forth with Bryn Mawr during the first two sets, but ultimately dropped into a 2-0 hole before rallying for a third-set victory; however, the Owls ran away with the fourth frame to win the match.

Bryn Mawr scored eight of the match's first 10 points before Brandywine moved as close as one point down following a kill from Nicolette Napoleon (Springfield, Pa./Penn Charter) during the first set. The Owls countered with the next two points and Brandywine got within two points three times late in the stanza before Bryn Mawr closed out the set with three-straight points.

Brandywine opened up an 11-8 edge during set No. 2, but Bryn Mawr rallied with nine of the next 11 points to jump into a 17-13 lead. Lauren Kelly (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) capped a run of four-straight Brandywine points with a kill; however, the Owls outscored Brandywine 8-2 the rest of the way to build a 2-0 advantage.

After falling behind 4-0 during the third set, Brandywine rallied to take a 6-5 lead when Hope Coacher (Ardmore, Pa./Haverford) recorded a kill. The Lions led the rest of the way, pushing the margin as large as seven on two occasions.

The Owls moved in front 8-1 during the final set, but Brandywine answered with 10 of the next 15 points, closing within two at 13-11 on a kill from Jade Maloney (Claymont, Del./Brandywine). The remainder of the set would belong to Bryn Mawr however, as the Owls pulled away late to win the frame 25-14 and claim the match in four sets.

Brandywine had a balanced offensive effort with six players recording at least four kills. Kelly led the way with eight, while Maloney, Napoleon, Julia Miles (Boothwyn, Pa./Chichester) and Rikelle Taylor (Nottingham, Pa./Solanco) all totaled five and Coacher chipped in four. Miles also posted 20 assists.

Maloney and Becca Civera (Boothwyn, Pa./Chichester) both tallied 18 digs and Kelly and Miles each collected 10. Sydney Stevens (Wilmington, Del./Alexis I. DuPont) produced nine digs, while Napoleon topped the team with two blocks.

Brandywine (0-4) faces Penn State Hazleton in its Penn State University Athletic Conference opener on Thursday in Hazleton at 7:00 pm.