The Muhlenberg volleyball was dominant early and resilient late, sweeping Ursinus to pick up its first Centennial Conference win of the season.
The Mules (7-8, 1-2) jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the first set behind the play of seniors Rachel Jacobs and Brooke Shiver, who combined for three blocks and five kills to account for all but one of the points. It was 22-9 late in the set after back-to-back kills by Shiver, and Muhlenberg went on to a 25-13 win.
The second set was tied 11-11 before a kill by senior Esmae Oehler put the Mules ahead for good. Muhlenberg was clinging to a 17-16 advantage before scoring five straight points, on a pair of kills apiece by junior Christina Marcin and Olivia Bruno and a Marcin ace, to pull away. Bruno’s ace finished off a 25-18 win.
Ursinus (9-8, 0-3) scored the first point of the third set to take its first lead and was up 7-3 after 10 points. The Mules still trailed by four, at 21-17, late in the set, before coming out of a timeout with four straight points, the last coming on a solo block by Jacobs, to draw even.
It was 23-23 before kills by Jacobs and Marcin finished off the set and the match, enabling Muhlenberg to avenge a five-set loss to the Bears last year.
The Mules held Ursinus to .033 hitting in the match while hitting .229 themselves.
Marcin led a balanced attack with 10 kills, while Jacobs and Shiver each finished with 9 kills and 6 blocks. Shiver tied her career high in kills in only 17 attempts.
Sophomore Jenny Ryan recorded 29 assists, including the 800th of her career, and added 12 digs. Oehler led Muhlenberg with 13 digs, and junior Camila Leyes (pictured above)…
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