Cedar Crest College Athletics

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. — The Cedar Crest College volleyball team split two matches on Saturday, falling to Ursinus College, 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 17-25, 17-25) before bouncing back to defeat Immaculata University, 3-1 (27-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-19) at Helfferich Hall.

Match One – Ursinus 3, Cedar Crest 1

In the match against the Bears, the Falcons took the opening set after a six-point run, overcoming a 10-8 deficit to lead 14-10, thanks to two kills from first-year Autumn Clewell (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton Area) and a serving stretch by sophomore Phoebe Pietila (Hayesville, N.C./Hayesville), which included back-to-back aces.

Ursinus, however, rallied to take the second set 25-20, following a seven-point run that put them ahead after the teams were tied at 15-15.

The third set saw Cedar Crest trailing from the start, falling behind 10-3 and despite a late push cutting the deficit to 19-16, the Bears closed out the set 25-17.
In the fourth set, The Falcons again fell behind, this time 17-8. A late surge brought them within four points at 20-16, but Ursinus sealed the match with a final score of 25-17.

First-year Kylie Heffner (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) recorded nine kills along with 11 digs to lead Cedar Crest, while Pietila posted a team-high 16 digs with six assists and two service aces. Clewell contributed with 15 digs, 12 assists, and six kills, and sophomore Kayla Duenkel (Central Square, N.Y./Bishop Grimes) added eight kills, hitting .316.

For the Bears, first-year Madison Small (Upper Dublin, Pa.) led with 13 kills and 14.0 points, supported by sophomore Lauren McGinn (Wallingford, Pa.)'s 23 assists and 12 digs.

Match Two – Cedar Crest 3, Immaculata 1

In their second match against the Mighty Macs, the Falcons showed resilience, particularly in the first set where they overcame a 22-19 deficit to win 27-25, powered by kills from Duenkel, Clewell, and first-year Gabby Manygoats (Bloomfield, N.M./Navajo Preparatory School), alongside a service ace from Pietila.

Despite dropping the second set 25-19, Cedar Crest rebounded to take the third set 25-20, erasing a 9-0 start by Immaculata through a series of strong serves and kills.

The fourth set was highlighted by an impressive 8-0 run that turned a 12-10 deficit into an 18-12 lead, featuring back-to-back aces from Pietila and kills from first-year Taylor Friel (Nazareth, Pa/Nazareth Area). The Falcons finished strong, closing the set 25-19 with Friel's second ace of the stretch.

Heffner again paced Cedar Crest with 10 kills and 14 digs, while Pietila recorded 17 digs, seven assists, and four service aces. Clewell added 18 assists, 16 digs, six kills, and one ace, while Friel contributed nine kills and four aces.

First-year Madi Kyle (Fairmont, W. Va.) was notable for Immaculata with 12 kills and eight digs, and sophomore Angelica Santini Bulerin (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) provided 15 assists and 10 digs.

Cedar Crest (2-7 overall) returns home to host Penn State Hazleton on Thursday, September 24 at 7:00 p.m.