The Muhlenberg volleyball team defeated Alfred State in five and SUNY Delhi in four for its first two wins of the season.
The Mules (2-3) came from behind twice in the first match, a 22-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-20, 15-9 nailbiter. Down 2-1 and facing a loss in the fourth set, Muhlenberg broke away from a 13-13 tie with four straight points, including back-to-back aces by freshman
Maddy Budris. Alfred was within 20-17 before another 4-0 run gave the Mules a commanding lead.
In the fifth set, the Mules were up 7-6 before consecutive kills by junior
Christina Marcin kicked off a decisive 5-0 run. Freshman
Megan Bagrosky (pictured above) served during the run, landing an ace. A kill by senior
Brooke Shiver made it 12-6.
The teams swapped points and it was 13-9 before an Alfred State attack error and a kill by freshman
Olivia Bruno ended the match.Â
Marcin led Muhlenberg with 13 kills and 18 digs. Senior
Esmae Oehler (12 kills, 12 digs) and sophomore
Jenny Ryan (28 assists, 10 digs) also recorded double-doubles, while junior
Camila Leyes (11) and freshman
Emma Laskaj (10) helped give the Mules five players with double digits in digs.
Bruno finished with 7 kills and 4 aces, and Shiver finished with 8 kills (one off her career high) with only one error in 20 attempts.
The Delhi match was tied after two sets, but Muhlenberg rolled to a 25-7 win in the third set, highlighted by a 9-0 run behind the serve of sophomore
Chloe Gaglione.Â
Gaglione also served during a 5-0 run in the fourth set that gave the Mules an 11-2 lead, and they closed out the match with a 25-18 win.
Muhlenberg featured a balanced attack led by Oehler with 12 kills and three players, senior
Rachel Jacobs, sophomore
Natalia Agnolet and Marcin, with 9 apiece. One of Marcin's kills was the 500th of her career.
Marcin again paced the Mules in digs, with 15, while Ryan and Gaglione pulled up 12 apiece.
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