Volleyball Kicks Off Tournament with Opening Day Split

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Virginia Wesleyan College opened its volleyball tournament with a three-set victory over Mt. Aloysius before falling in four sets to St. Mary's College of Maryland on Friday afternoon.

3-0 Victory over Mt. Aloysius (25-17, 25-16, 25-20)

The Marlins jumped out quickly to a 2-0 set lead after hitting over .300 in each of the first two sets. Tiffany Barrett was very effective on the front line, finishing with 13 kills against just three errors to pace the squad. Emilee Pierson led the team with 26 assists and 13 digs.

Lindsey Mercer led the Mounties with 11 kills, but the Marlins held the visitors to a .071 hitting percentage as a team.

3-1 Loss to St. Mary's (Md.) (25-23, 19-25, 25-14, 25-21)

St. Mary's looked to be in control of this match from the start, but an interesting play in the second set swung the tide in the way of the Marlins.

The Seahawks led 6-5 when a service point made it 7-5, at least for the time being. It was determined that St. Mary's served out of order, awarding the point to Virginia Wesleyan while knotting the score at six.

It sparked a 16-6 run that carried the Marlins to the second-set victory. The Seahawks answered with a decisive third set win before pulling off the win in the fourth.

Barrett led the way with 14 kills and 21 digs, while freshman Amber Matalus put away 10 kills on a .360 hitting clip. Pierson continued to have a spectacular day, assisting on a career-high 41 balls in the match.

Virginia Wesleyan (1-1) will conclude play in the weekend tournament on Saturday.