By Faye Dorman
Elm Staff Writer
The first game was against Ursinus, a Centennial Conference competitor, who had a record of 0-1 for the Conference.
The first set against Ursinus proved to be a tough battle with the points going back and forth from the Shorewomen’s lead at 23-18 to the five points Ursinus scored to tie. The set then went past regulation until the Shorewomen were able to pull ahead 30-28 and win the set.
From there, Ursinus pushed back, winning both of the next sets with increasing gaps in score. The second set had the Shorewomen with a lead of 14-10, courtesy of senior outside hitter Courtney Maxwell. Then, Ursinus scored 15 points and the Shorewomen answered with seven points.
Tied again at 19-19, Ursinus capitalized on a service error, and with a final kill from one of their players, the set was finished with Ursinus at 25 points and Washington College at 21 points.
The third set, despite the first point going to the Shorewomen, saw Ursinus pull ahead 8-1. Ultimately, the Bears won with a 13 point lead, making the final score 12-25.
The fourth set saw a comeback for the Shorewomen, as a back and forth game once again led them to a tie at 24-24. With a kill from freshman setter Allison McKechnie and miscommunication from Ursinus, the Shorewomen pulled ahead to win the fourth set 26-24 and send both teams into a fifth set.
To start the set, Ursinus scored the first three points, and later pulled ahead with an 8-2 lead. Though the Shorewomen would win the majority of the next five points. The Bears then shut them out, pulling ahead for a nine point lead. Ursinus then went on to win the fifth set 15-6.
The Shorewomen also played Cabrini University, the first game between the two non-conference teams since 2008.
The first set saw Cabrini with a 7-4 lead before scoring the next nine points, and ultimately winning the set 25-11.
The second set saw a five point head start for Cabrini, and a 16-8 lead off of a bad set by the Shorewomen. The set finished with a score of 25-15, Cavaliers winning once again.
The third set started off with the Shorewomen going down 6-1, but the team came through with a 15 point run. With the game tied 22-22, the Cavaliers pushed ahead to score the next three points and finish the third set with a score of 25-22.
The games left Ursinus and the Shorewomen with a conference record of 1-1. The team now has a 9-7 record thus far.
Maxwell left the Ursinus match with her fifth double-double of the season, with 16 kills and 13 digs, along with sophomore outside hitter Angelina Schaber’s 12 kills. Additionally, McKechnie helped with 21 assists and 11 digs and junior defensive specialist Jordan Fairchild with 13 digs.
The match against Cabrini gave Maxwell another six kills, sophomore outside hitter Colette Franck nine digs, and McKechnie with three aces.
Despite these tough losses, WC still holds a winning record, and the team is looking forward to their next conference match away at Brynn Marr on October 5th.