SCRANTON, Pa. - The University of Scranton volleyball team dropped a pair of Landmark Conference matches on Saturday, losing to Susquehanna in three sets and 12th ranked Juniata in four at the John Long Center.

With the losses, the Royals fell to 9-10 on the season and 0-2 in the Landmark Conference.

Susquehanna 3, Scranton 0 (21-25, 16-25, 14-25) | Box Score

In the first match of the day, Susquehanna got past the Royals in three sets, as the visiting River Hawks rolled in the final two sets to take the win.

In the opening game, the Royals got off to a fast start, opening a 5-0 lead, before holding the edge for most of the set. But, up 17-14 late on Susquehanna, the Royals lost momentum when the River Hawks went on an 11-4 run to end the match and take the first game.

The momentum Scranton had early in the first game could not be duplicated over the final two games, as Susquehanna leapt out to large early leads to down the stretch and win both games, along with the match in three.

Overall, sophomore Kristin Kirwan (Park Ridge, N.J./Immaculate Heart Academy) ended with 11 kills and nine digs, while senior setter Brittany Cafiero (Merrick N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) posted 29 assists in the defeat.

Juniata 3, Scranton 1 (25-21, 14-25, 12-25, 9-25) | Box Score

In the last match of the afternoon, the Royals came out on fire against the nationally-ranked Eagles, opening a 21-15 lead late in the firat set (off a 6-0 run that started when the set was tied at 15-15).

The Royals held off a bit of a rally by Juniata at the end of the set to win the first game by four points, going up 1-0 in the match in the process.

But, the Eagles attacked back with avengence over the final three games, opening up large leads on the Royals in each set to roll to a four-set victory.

In the Juniata match, Kirwan once again led the Royals attack with 10 kills, while also collecting nine digs on the defensive end. For Kirwan, it was her 13th double-digit kill match of the 2016 season to date.

Elsewhere, Cafiero ended the match with 12 assists, while senior Danielle Cafiero (Merrick, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) posted 13 digs to lead the defense in defeat.

The University of Scranton volleyball team returns to action on Wednesday, traveling to SUNY-Oneonta for a non-conference match. First serve is set for 7 p.m.

--ROYALS--