Volleyball Battles At Molloy But Suffers First ECC Loss Of 2021 In Five Sets

Rockville Centre, N.Y.-The University of Bridgeport women's volleyball team battled but came up just short on the road at Molloy College on Saturday afternoon, as the Lions handed the Purple Knights their first East Coast Conference loss of 2021, as UB fell in five sets, 25-23, 25-27, 22-25, 25-21, 16-18.  Bridgeport is now 7-5 overall and 2-1 in the ECC, and Molly moves to 7-9 on the season and an even 2-2 in conference action.

Three Purple Knights reached double-digit kills on Saturday led by Paola Hernandez (Fr., Bayamon, P.R.) with 16.  She was followed by classmate Melanie Smith (Ft. Collins, Colo.) with 15, and senior Amanda Keller (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) added 10 hammers for UB.  Hernandez and Smith also finished with double-doubles, as they chipped in 12 digs apiece on defense.

Freshman Jaden Drollinger (Queens Creek, Az.) directed the Bridgeport offense with a match-high 50 assists, and she also added five digs, three kills and two service aces.

Senior Emily Burford (Albuquerque, N.M.) led the Purple Knights' defense with 19 digs, and graduate student Amanda Hennemann (Nova Petropolis, Brazil) also reached double figures in digs with 16.

With Saturday's result, Bridgeport is now 2-2 in five-set matches so far this season.

Molloy's Kathleen Doherty led all players in the match with 18 kills.

Up next, the Purple Knights head for New Hampshire to take on the St. Anselm College Hawks on Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm.