ALLENTOWN, Pa. – For the second time in two days, the Cedar Crest College volleyball team defeated Gwynedd Mercy University, this time coming in a 3-0 sweep on Saturday afternoon at Lees Gymnasium.

The Falcons took the match with set scores of 25-19, 25-23, and 25-22.

With the Griffins up 3-2 in the first stanza, the Falcons would put together an 11-1 run behind the serving from junior Alexis Cummins (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) to build a 13-4 advantage. Gwynedd Mercy put together a mini-run of three-straight points, which was answered by a 4-0 spurt from Cedar Crest to push the lead to 10, 17-7. The Griffins got to within as few as four (23-19), but back-to-back kills from sophomore Ellise Everett (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona) and first-year Natalie Brown (Hoschton, Ga./Gainesville) gave the Falcons the 25-19 first-set win.

The beginning of set two saw the squads splitting the first 10 points. The Griffins then jumped up by a pair which was then answered by a 9-0 run by the Falcons to make the score 14-7. The run was finished off by a kill from Everett.

Gwynedd Mercy chipped away at the deficit, highlighted by a 6-0 run to knot the set at 17. The stanza would eventually be tied at 22-all before Cedar Crest outscored the Griffins 3-1 over the remainder of the set and came away with the 25-23 triumph.

The Falcons erased a seven-point deficit in the third set (20-13) and closed the match on a 12-2 run to take the frame by a 25-22 score.

Everett guided Cedar Crest with a team-high 10 kills to go along with four blocks. Senior Ava Grapsy (Macungie, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) chipped in nine kills, one service ace, five assists, and nine digs. Junior Alexis Cummins (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) added seven kills, nine digs, and one service ace. First-year Nikki Blair (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) recorded a double-double of 15 assists and 11 digs while senior Rebekka Sanchez-Castro (Columbia, Md./Atholton) registered a team-high 20 digs to go along with five assists, and one service ace.

Senior Bria Purnell (Reading, Pa.) led the Griffins with nine kills, three service aces, one block, two assists, and seven digs.

Cedar Crest (2-0 overall) will travel to nearby Moravian University for its next match, which will take place on Wednesday, September 6 at 7:00 p.m. Gwynedd Mercy (0-2 overall) will play host to Penn State Abington for its home opener on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
 
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