Stephanie Klug	Lizzy Zimmermann	Bailey Woods

Photos (by Dan Ceccacci)

SCRANTON, Pa.  – The University of Scranton volleyball team earned a split of two matches on the opening day of the 2015 Scranton Invitational inside the John Long Center, as the Royals rolled past Anna Maria in their nightcap match in three sets, while falling in a five-set thriller to Oswego State in the opening match of the day.

With the results, Scranton goes to 3-1 on the year.

Scranton 3, Anna Maria 0 (25-9, 25-12, 25-18)

Coming off a tough loss in their first match of the Invitational, Scranton came back strong in their second match against Anna Maria.

In the first set, the Royals took control early, leaping out to a 12-5 lead and never looking back in a convincing 14-point win to open play. It was more of the same in the second set, as the Royals jumped out to another big early lead (14-6) and never looked back in a 13-point win.

While Anna Maria showed some fight early on in the third set, Scranton once again pulled away late to end the match in three sets. Up 18-14, the Royals ended things with a 7-4 run over the final moments of the match, as Scranton walked away with a three-set win to end the first day of the Scranton Invitational.

Overall, senior Stephanie Klug (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood) led the Royal attack in the victory, recording eight kills, while hitting .778 on the evening. Klug also recorded five services aces on the night, as well.

Elsewhere, junior setter Bailey Woods (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) was able to notch 24 assists in the win, while senior Lizzy Zimmermann (Livingston, N.J.) and sophomore Catherine Manning (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) had two block-assists, apiece.

Oswego State 3, Scranton 2 (17-25, 17-25, 25-14, 25-13, 10-15)

It was a tale of two halves in the first match of the day for the Royals, as they fell behind big after decisively dropping the first two sets to Oswego State to put themselves in a 2-0 hole.

But, the Royals were able to dig out of the hole by rolling the visiting Lakers in the third and fourth sets, winning both by double-digit margins. Unfortunately, Oswego State was able to come back in the fifth set, quickly opening up what turned out to be an insurmountable 4-0 lead over Scranton on their way to a five-point win. 

Overall, Zimmermann led the Scranton attack in the tough loss, slamming home a career-high 15 kills. Klug added 10 more kills, while the junior defensive duo of Danielle Cafiero (Merrick, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) and Brittany Cafiero (Merrick, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) posted 19 and 10 digs, apiece.

The University of Scranton volleyball team returns to action on Saturday morning, playing Pitt-Bradford in their final match of pool play in the 2015 Scranton Invitational inside the Long Center at 9:30 a.m. The Royals will play their final match of the weekend at either 2:30 or 4:30 p.m., as well. 

--ROYALS--