SCRANTON, PA. -- Gwynedd Mercy had their season come to a close with a 3-1 decision at Marywood in a first-round matchup of the 2019 Atlantic East Volleyball Tournament. Set scores were 25-21, 18-25, 25-13, and 25-19.

The fifth-seeded Griffins were making their first postseason appearance in 12 years but the Pacers took the final two sets to advance to the semifinal round.

Gwynedd had three players with five or more kills led my Madelyn Mosser with a team-high seven. Liz Schule added six with Kaylee Craig totaling five. Layne Morgan chipped in five as the squad totaled 27 for the night, producing a 27-28-169 hitting line.

Setter Bridget McTamney notched her 19th double-double on the season, racking up 21 assists and 15 digs. Libero Cait Saalfrank collected 38 digs in the four-set match.

For Marywood, Peri Sheerin continued to haunt the Griffins. After registering 20 kills in their regular-season meeting last weekend, Sheerin totaled a match-high 16 as the Pacers rolled out a 48-31-181 hitting line.

Mosser's kill in the first set cut into the Marywood lead at 14-13, but an ensuing 8-3 run from the Pacers gave them their largest lead (22-16) which forced a Gwynedd timeout. GMercyU put together a 5-1 spurt to get within two, but a double block and ace from MU gave them the 1-0 edge.

Gwynedd spent the second set ahead the entire length, notching the first four points. Later a quick 4-0 spurt gave them their largest lead of the set (22-13), before closing things out. In the third, it was the Griffins who trailed the whole set, falling behind as much as 10 (16-6), thanks to an 8-0 run. Gwynedd could not recover from a 9-1 deficit to start the fourth set. They would get as close as 22-16, forcing a Marywood timeout, but could not force a fifth and deciding set.

The loss marks the end of the journey of the team's three seniors: Schule, Kerry McGlinn, and Natalie Danze. Schule will leave the program playing in 102 matches and is in the record books in aces (T-third) with 172, fourth in block assists (62), and fifth in kills (624). McGlinn battled through an injury late in the season to appear in exactly 100 matches. As a setter in her first two seasons before moving to a right side hitter in the final two, her assist totals still rank her fourth all-time (1238). Danze was a member of the team for two seasons, nearly averaging a service ace while playing in 41 contests.