Charleston, S.C. – The Le Moyne College volleyball team fell short in its season-opening match against the Davidson College Wildcats with a 3-0 loss on Friday afternoon at the College of Charleston's TD Arena on the first day of their CofC Classic.

"What can I say about today?" said head coach Susan Kim. "Today was a lot of firsts for us. My first match as a head coach. The team's first division 1 match. The first college matches for the freshmen. First collegiate kills, digs, blocks, and serves were recorded. No doubt a very memorable experience for all of us. But the biggest takeaways from our first two matches played today is that we can control how we want to respond to adversity and with good, consistent energy, we play together really well as a team. This team is truly enjoying the journey and most of all, we get to do it together. Can't wait to see more growth this season."
 
The Dolphins fought hard in the first set but fell short, losing 25-15. In the second set, the Wildcats outscored the Dolphins 25-2. In the third and final set, the Wildcats took home the victory with a 25-17 score.
 
Freshman outside hitter Branwyn Lupton (Napanee, Ontario / Napanee District Secondary School) and senior outside hitter Madison Dembroski (Plattekill, N.Y. / Wallkill) led the team with three kills each with hitting .148 at the net. Sophomore setter Haley Gerken (Buffalo, N.Y. / Frontier) directed the offense with seven assists. Junior libero/DS Ella Katz (Burnt Hills, N.Y. / Burnt Hills - Ballston Lake) posted eight digs for the defense.
 
For the Wildcats, Emma Slusser posted eight kills, followed by El Garcia-Guerrios with eight kills and Jackie Bardin and Anna Withee both posted five kills. Jossie Doyal led the Wildcats offense with 21 assists and Jan M Duhaylungsod had 15 assists. Bella Brady recorded 15 digs followed by Jordan Hummel with 10 digs.

For their second match of the day, the Dolphins took on the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Mountaineers took all three sets this afternoon with scores of 25-10, 25-19, and 25-15.
 
Sophomore middle blocker Kayla Anstett (Rochester, N.Y. / Hilton) recorded six kills followed by freshman libero/DS Emilia Estrada (Jacksonville, Fla. / Bishop Kenny) with four and Dembroski with three this match. Gerken led the offense again with 13 assists and 3 digs, while freshman libero/DS Haley Buescher (Toledo, Ohio / St. Ursula Academy) recorded one assist and nine digs, followed by Dembroski with six digs.
 
The Mountaineers were led by Bailey Miller and Maddy McGath tying for eight kills, while Hailey Green had seven. Lauren DeLo and Katie Kolar both registered 17 assists and Camilla Covas had six. For their defense, Camilla Covas led the team with 10 digs, Lauren DeLo and Samiha Foster both had 5 digs as well.
 
Tomorrow, the Dolphins compete in the second day of the CofC Classic against the College of Charleston at 11:00 a.m., at TD Arena – Charleston, S.C.