NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The Union College women’s volleyball team was challenged by a pair of quality opponents on Saturday at Smith College’s Ainsworth Gymnasium, putting a big scare into AVCA #4 Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a 3-1 loss before falling in three sets to the regionally ranked Pioneers.
Junior Shannon McGrath paced Union (19-10) with 21 kills and 18 digs on the day, followed close behind by sophomore Erin Stevens with 19 kills. First-year Allie Kronenberg registered 46 assists for the Garnet Chargers as well.
MIT 3, Union 1 (25-23, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22)
Union battled incredibly hard against fourth-ranked MIT to start the day, becoming only the ninth team to take a set off the undefeated Engineers this season in a 3-1 loss.
McGrath led all players with 17 kills and added 14 digs for her 11th double-double of the season, and she was followed by Stevens with a career-best 12 kills and three solo blocks, which matched classmate Maddie McCarron for the team lead. Kronenberg again came a dig short of a double-double with 33 assists and nine digs.
The Garnet Chargers jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the first set thanks to a 6-0 run, but MIT came back with eight straight points to take back the lead. The Engineers led 23-19 before Union scored four straight to tie the set at 23, but two MIT kills gave the team the opening set.
A 12-3 run midway through the second stanza gave the Engineers a two-set lead, but Union continued to battle and extended the match with a hard-fought third-set win. Holding a 10-8 lead, the Garnet Chargers went on an…
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