MADISON, N.J. – The Drew University women's volleyball team battled to force a fourth set, but Muhlenberg College prevailed 3-1 in a non-conference tilt Tuesday evening.
The Mules won the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-21, before the Rangers captured a 25-19 victory. However, the visitors closed it out by a 25-17 count in the fourth set.
The Rangers were paced by sophomores
Teeya Desgoutte, who notched 12 kills and 12 digs, and
Emily Shirk, who totaled 11 kills, 14 digs, and three aces. Freshman
Alyssa Rachwal handed out 31 assists to go with nine digs, and juniors
Lauren Gaza and
Kiara Vasquez added 26 and 14 digs, respectively. Sophomore
Marissa Guajardo aided the defense with five blocks.
Christina Marcin fronted Muhlenberg (9-3) with 16 kills and 22 digs.
Drew led 18-15 in the opening set before the Mules went in front with a 5-0 run. The Rangers came back to tie the match at 20-20, only to see Muhlenberg end the set on another 5-0 spurt.
The second set was another back-and-forth affair and the two sides were tied 18-18 after an ace from Rachwal. However, the Mules pulled away late with a 5-1 run.
The Rangers came out on fire in the third set, outscoring Muhlenberg 7-0 and 9-1 to start the period. Shirk served on the first seven points, during which she served up back-to-back aces, and an ace from Guajardo gave the hosts their early eight-point advantage.
The Mules pulled to within four on two occasions, the last coming at 22-18, but that's when Drew ended the set on a 3-1 run, getting a pair of kills from Guajardo and one from Shirk.
The Rangers opened strong in the fourth set as well, beginning the stanza on an 8-1 run. However, Muhlenberg answered with a 15-2 run to assume a six-point lead. But the Rangers would not go quietly and Shirk erupted with four straight kills late in the set to whittle the deficit to one (17-16) before the Mules ended it on an 8-1 run.
The Rangers take nine days off from competition before opening their Landmark Conference schedule on Sept. 29, when they visit Catholic University at 6 p.m.
