Purple Knights Fall In Five Sets At Felician For First Conference Loss Of 2023

Rutherford, N.J.-It took five sets, but the University of Bridgeport women's volleyball team suffered its first Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference loss of the season on Wednesday night against the host Felician University Golden Falcons.  Bridgeport is now 14-4 overall and 7-1 in the CACC, as Wednesday's defeat snaps a four-match winning streak.  Felician moves to 7-12 overall and 5-3 in conference play.

The Purple Knights won the first set in New Jersey, 25-23, but the host responded by taking the next two frames by identical 22-25 scores.  UB forced a deciding fifth set by taking set number four, 26-24, and Felician won the match with a 9-15 triumph in the fifth set.

Hailey Jessen (Fr., Highlands Ranch, Colo.) led Purple Knights' offense with a match-high 26 kills to go along with a .352 hitting percentage on Wednesday night, and she was joined in double-digit kills by sophomore Lucia Tomiello (Caltrano, Italy) with 12, as she hit .321 on the evening.

Setter Jaden Drollinger (Jr., Queens Creek, Ariz.) dished off 50 assists, marking the second time she has reached 50 this season, against the Golden Falcons to move to just 30 assists shy of 3,000 for her stellar career as a Purple Knight.  Drollinger notched a double-double at Felician, as she led her team with 15 digs in the five sets.

Freshman Grace Presswood (S. Dennis, Mass.) with 12 and junior Paola Hernandez (Bayamon, P.R.) with 10 also had double figures in digs.  Presswood also added eight kills on Wednesday.

Datari Mathis (Wethersfield, Conn.) led Bridgeport in blocks against the Golden Falcons with seven, and she also chipped in a total of seven kills on offense.

Up next, the UB women's volleyball team will look to get back in the win column on Saturday when they wrap up a two-match road trip in Delaware with a CACC Crossover contest versus Wilmington University.  Action is slated to begin at 5:00 p.m.

PHOTO BY CLARUS MUTIMEDIA