UNION, N.J. – On Sunday afternoon, the Vassar College women's volleyball team concluded play at the season-opening Kean Invitational with a pair of matches.  After starting the day with a dominant 25-20, 25-7, 25-18 victory over Western New England (0-4), the Brewers (2-2) dropped a 28-26, 21-25, 27-25, 25-18 decision to the host Cougars (3-1) at Harwood Arena.
 
In its first match of the day, Vassar had a dominant performance against Western New England, hitting .352 (40 kills, nine errors, 88 attempts)as a team  while serving 11 aces and recording 45 digs.  Devan Gallagher (San Francisco, CA) finished with 13 kills on .423 hitting to go along with four aces.  Jane McLeod (New York, NY) had 11 kills, and Lauren Ninkovich (Portland, OR) posted a match-high 13 digs while also notching three aces.  Annie MacMillan (Colorado Springs, CO) and Madison Wilson (Plano, TX) shared the setting duties, with MacMillan distributing 17 assists and Wilson handing out 15 assists.  Jorden Schreeder (Saratoga,CA), meanwhile, tallied 12 digs.
 
After the Brewers took an early 4-1 lead in the first set, Western New England rallied to pull within one at 7-6.  Vassar extended its cushion back to three points, 12-9, before the Golden Bears went on a 3-0 run to tie it at 12-12.  The Brewers scored three of the next four points to regain the lead, 15-13, but Western New England countered with a 4-1 spurt to go in front 17-16.  However, Gallagher responded with back-to-back kills that sparked a 9-3 Vassar run, and the Brewers closed out a 25-20 set win on a kill by McLeod.
 
Vassar then started the second set on a 3-0 run and never looked back.  The Brewers served seven aces in the frame, with a Gallagher ace giving them a 20-5 lead.  Vassar went up 23-6 on a Sara Ehnstrom (Kaneohe, HI) ace, and took the set by a 25-7 count.  The Brewers hit .500 (9-2-14) as a team in the stanza.
 
It was a back-and-forth start to the third set, as Western New England jumped out to a 5-3 lead before Vassar rallied to go up 10-9.  After the Golden Bears took a 13-12 lead, the Brewers went on a 6-0 run to build an 18-13 cushion.  Western New England pulled back within two at 19-17, but Vassar ended the set by taking six of the final seven points to cap a 25-18 win that clinched the match, 3-0.
 
Ashley Matthews led the Golden Bears with five kills.  Jenna McCormack finished with 11 assists and seven digs, while Kiana Turner registered a team-best 10 digs.  As a team, Western New England hit .060 (21-16-84) in the match.
 
Against Kean, Vassar played four closely-contested sets.  The Cougars jumped out to a 4-1 cushion in the opening set and eventually extended that margin to 20-13 before the Brewers came storming back.  Vassar used a 10-3 run to draw even at 23-23, then fought off set points at 24-23 and 25-24.  After the Brewers tied the score again at 26-26, Kean's Brett Harper ended the set with consecutive kills that gave the Cougars a 28-26 win.
 
The Brewers then established early control in the second set, going up 9-5 on a MacMillan ace.  Kean trimmed its deficit to one at 10-9 before Vassar used a 10-5 spurt to increase its advantage to 20-14.  A McLeod kill brought the Brewers to set point at 24-20, and Gallagher smashed a kill to finish off the frame, 25-21, and level the match at one set apiece.
 
There were 15 ties and three lead changes in a third set where neither side had an advantage of more than four points.  A MacMillan ace made it 10-6 Vassar early in the set, but Kean responded with an 11-5 spurt to take a 17-15 lead.  After the Brewers went back in front, 22-20, the Cougars rattled off three straight points to pull ahead 23-22.  Kean captured the set by a 27-25 count to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Kean then used a 4-0 run to build an early 5-2 cushion in the fourth set.  Vassar trimmed its deficit to one at 8-7, but the Cougars countered with a 6-2 spurt to push the margin back to five points, 14-9.  After an Ehnstrom ace brought the Brewers within 16-13, Kean went on a 5-2 run to regain a six-point lead, 21-15.  The Cougars took the set by a score of 25-18, giving them a 3-1 match victory.
 
McLeod led the Brewers with 15 kills on .311 hitting.  Ninkovich had 12 kills and a team-high 24 digs, while Gallagher tallied 11 kills, 21 digs and three aces.  MacMillan also recorded a double-double, finishing with 41 assists and 13 digs.  Schreeder added 11 digs, and Claire Bialek (Brookline, MA) contributed nine digs.  As a team, Vassar hit .152 (47-21-171) in the match.  The Brewers also held an 85-80 advantage in the dig category.
 
For the Cougars, Vikki Stec posted17 kills and 12 digs.  Harper finished with 16 kills and 12 digs, while Zoe Strozewski added 16 kills.  Brianna Calvano had a double-double with 57 assists and 11 digs (while also hitting .500), and Kortnee Nelson collected 24 digs.  Kean hit .262 (70-20-191) as a team.
 
Next weekend, the Brewers host the annual Vassar Invitational at the Athletics and Fitness Center.  Vassar opens the tournament against Oswego State (1-2) at 6 p.m. on Friday.  The other teams participating in the event are Fredonia (3-1), Scranton (3-1) at the University of New England (1-2).