WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Cedar Crest College volleyball team dropped a pair of matches at the Worthington Classic, hosted by Gallaudet University on Friday.

Match One – Gallaudet 3, Cedar Crest 0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-16)

Gallaudet got out to a 5-0 lead and built a 11-4 advantage following a kill from junior Cassidy Perry (Frederick, Md.). After a point by Cedar Crest, the Bison rattled off six points in a row to grab a 12-point margin, 17-5. The Falcons cut the deficit to 10 three times in the late states of the set, the last being on an attack error by senior Natalie Clayberg (Pela, Iowa) to make the score 24-14, but a Cedar Crest attack error gave the home team the opening set, 25-14.

Gallaudet started the second stanza on a 10-1 run, capped off by a service ace from sophomore Citrine Lummer (Frederick, Md.). The Bison then strung together a 5-0 spurt, which was finished off by a Falcons' attack error, making the score 17-5. Cedar Crest pulled to within nine, 20-11, after a service ace from senior Liberty Jackson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Gilbert (Ariz.)). Gallaudet finished the set on a 5-2 run to capture the frame, 25-13.

The Bison scored the first four points of the third set. The Falcons got to within two on a pair of occasions before Gallaudet made it 14-10 after a kill from Perry. Cedar Crest answered back with three straight points, finished off by a block from junior Alexis Cummins (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) and sophomore Ellise Everett (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona). The Falcons trimmed the margin to one (17-16) after a block from junior Akashia Johnson (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic Institute), but the Bison finished the set on an 8-0 run to take the stanza, 25-16, and the match in straight sets.

Everett led Cedar Crest with six kills and a pair of blocks. Senior Ava Grapsy (Macungie, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) had five kills, six assists, seven digs, and two block assists. First-year Nikki Blair (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) turned in 11 assists and five digs. Senior Ziah Melton (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) recorded three kills and one assist, while Johnson registered a team-high four blocks.

Match Two – DeSales 3, Cedar Crest 1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-14, 25-20)

The first set was tight as the teams split the first 10 points (5-5). DeSales then went on a 6-0 run to build an 11-5 advantage. Later in the stanza, the Bulldogs strung together a 6-1 to extend the margin to 11, 19-8 after a kill from Mykenah Calder. The Falcons responded with five straight points to make the score 19-13, capped off by a kill from Grapsy. Cedar Crest was able to get as close as six, but DeSales would come away with the opening set, 25-17.

After the Bulldogs grabbed a 9-7 advantage in the second set, the Falcons embarked on a 9-2 run, finished off by a service ace from Grapsy to push the Cedar Crest lead to five, 16-11. The Falcons would not relinquish the lead and would capture the stanza by a 25-19 score.

DeSales would close out the match by taking the next two sets by scores of 25-14 and 25-20.

Grapsy was the leader in kills for Cedar Crest with 10 to go along with six service aces, six digs, one assist, and one block. Everett followed with seven kills, three blocks, three digs, and a service ace. Melton recorded five kills and six digs. Sophomore Alana Connor (Manassas, Va./Charles J. Colgan) turned in a career-high 20 digs while Blair had a double-double of 25 assists and 11 digs.

Cedar Crest (4-7 overall) will resume play at the Worthington Classic against the Pratt Institute at 10:00 a.m. followed by a to-be-determined matchup at 2:00 or 4:00 p.m.

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