Box Score

SCRANTON - Junior Jillian Graham (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) finished with 13 kills, but it wasn't enough, as The University of Scranton volleyball team fell to Marywood, 3-1, on Friday night inside the John Long Center (19-25, 23-25, 25-10, 22-25).

With the loss, Scranton dropped to 13-14 overall, while Marywood improved to 10-17 on the season with the win.

To open play, Marywood came out and raced out to a 2-0 lead, coasting to a six-point win in the first set, while coming back late in the second game to edge the Royals by two points.

But, in the third set, Scranton came out and stayed alive with a dominating 15-point win to cut the Marywood lead down to 2-1 entering the fourth set. There, Scranton was able to open lead in the middle of play (17-15), only to see Marywood go on a big 7-1 run to open a 22-18 lead late.

Scranton was able to cut the Marywood lead down to a single point (23-22), but the Pacers finished off the match with back-to-back points to win in four over the Royals in the Long Center.

Overall, Graham led the Royals attack in the win with 13 kills to go along with nine digs and five total blocks (three of which were solos). Freshman Carah Vitkus (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) continued her strong play on the attack with 10 kills, marking the 11th straight match she has gone into double-figure in the kill category for the Royals.

Elsewhere, junior Kindler Norman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) finished with 24 assists to push her career assist total to 2,827, now the fifth-best mark in the history of the Scranton program. Freshman Caileigh Cox (Randolph, N.J./Randolph), meanwhile, finished with 23 assists, eight digs and two blocks on the night.

During the match, The University of Scranton volleyball program raised funds for the Sideout Foundation, which will go toward a clinical trial specifically for patients with stage 4 breast cancer.

The University of Scranton volleyball team returns to action on Saturday, hosting their final two home matches of the 2019 season against DeSales (1 p.m.) and Hunter (5 p.m.). It will also serve as the program's Senior Day.

--ROYALS--