GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA. -- Gwynedd Mercy hosted Clarks Summit and Neumann in a Colonial States Athletic Conference Tri-match on Monday. The Griffins split on the day, winning 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-12) against the Defenders, but falling 3-0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-15) to the Knights.

In the match with Clarks Summit, Abreeanna Bisenius led all attackers with a match-high nine kills. Liz Schule added eight along with five blocks and Rainah Dunham kicked in five kills and four blocks. Cassie McCarney totaled a career-high six aces to go along with her six kills and seven digs.

An 11-0 run in set one was part of a 16-5 spurt to close out a 25-20 win.  The Griffins stormed out to a 7-0 lead in set two, thanks to four aces from McCarney on the serve. The Defenders rallied to get it to a 9-8 score but were held in check as GMercyU never relinquished the lead. A 7-0 run opened up a double-digit lead (23-13) capped by a double block from Schule and Dunham. Bisenius ended the set with her third kill for the 25-19 score.

Trailing 4-1 in the third, the Griffins turned it on courtesy of a 17-4 scoring run to go on and clinch the conference win.

Kara Brown led CSU with eight kills while teammate Alexa Wagner added eight digs, seven assists, and four kills.

In the middle match, the Knights took down Clarks Summit, 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-9).

The nightcap against Neumann saw the Griffins struggle, as the team produced just 10 team kills, tying a season low. The Knights took the first set without trailing but had to fight off Gwynedd in the second. Down 8-4 early, the team rallied to tie it at 9-9 before Neumann used a run of their own, a 10-3 spurt, to take a 19-12 advantage. In the third, the Griffins (6-12, 2-3 CSAC) capitalized early in the set as a kill from Schule gave GM a 7-4 lead. But again, Neumann then went on an 8-2 run to force a Gwynedd timeout. The Griffins would get as close as 14-11, but could pull no closer.

Schule had top kill honors with four while Dunham collected a pair of blocks and three digs. Cait Saalfrank totaled a match-high 15 digs. The Knights (7-11, 3-0 CSAC) had four players with five or more kills led by Bridget Lozier who had nine.

Gwynedd Mercy resumes action on Saturday when they head to Penn College for a tri-match with the host Wildcats and SUNY-Cobleskill.