Philadelphia, P.A.  – The Le Moyne College volleyball team kicked off the Penn Invitational on Friday afternoon, taking on Manhattan University and Morgan State University. The Dolphins fell to the Manhattan Jaspers, 3-1, before taking down the Morgan State Bears in five sets for their first win of the season.

Match One:
A strong finish in the first set gave Manhattan a 25-13 victory before Le Moyne stormed back to even the match in the second-set, winning 25-22. The Dolphins were unable to curb the Jaspers any further and fell in the final two sets, 25-22.

For the Dolphins, freshman outside hitter Jordyn Hamlin (Manahawkin, N.J. / Southern Regional) led the squad with 11 kills, while also recording nine digs, and a service ace in the match. Sophomore opposite hitter Branwyn Lupton (Napanee, O.N. / Napanee District Secondary School), along with freshman outside hitters Nina Salas (Austin, T.X. / McNeil) and Denali Louden (Murrieta, C.A. / Murrieta Mesa) each tallied eight kills of their own against the Jaspers. Junior setter Haley Gerken (Buffalo, N.Y. / Frontier) put up a team-high in assists with 24 while also adding seven digs, while freshman libero Brooke Menke (St. Louis M.O. / Visitation Academy) added the high in digs with 13. Junior middle hitter Nil Ezgi Tasdelen (Izmir, Turkey / Ugur Okullari) added three block assists for Le Moyne.

Gerken tallied her 1,000th career assist in the match versus Manhattan University.

For Manhattan, Maike Bertens led the team in kills with 17 while adding 14 digs. Mikalah Curran followed closely behind with 16 kills while recording the team-high in digs with 15. Sarah Emmons led the Jaspers in assists with 40 while Elenoa Sing tallied five block assists in the match.

Match Two:
The win marked the first of the season and second since moving to Division-I for Le Moyne. The Dolphins held on to take the first set, 25-20, after leading 22-13 mid-way through before riding a strong finish to win the second set, 25-19, and taking a two-set lead. The Bears fought back and won the next two sets, 25-22 and 25-15, before the 'Phins finished out the match with a victory in the fifth and final set, 15-7.

For Le Moyne, sophomore opposite hitter Lupton led with 15 kills, with junior middle hitter Kayla Anstett (Rochester N.Y. / Hilton) following with 10. Freshman setter Skylar Jehlen (Rochester, N.Y. / Churchville-Chili) put up a team-high in assists with 27 while also adding three digs. Gerken recorded 15 assists and a team-high 11 digs, as well. Hamlin tied Gerken for the lead in digs with 11, while freshman middle hitter Anaya Rawlinson (Whitby O.N. / Sinclair Secondary School) tied Anstett and Louden with two block assists in the victory. 

For the Bears, Daniela Ferreira recorded the team-high in kills with 11 while Mya Karrick led in digs with eight. Karrick added the high in assists with 18, as well, with Trinity Carruthers following behind with 12. Aubrey Wilson tallied a match-high seven block assists in the loss.

What's Next:
The Dolphins will finish out the Penn Invitational against the University of Pennsylvania tomorrow Saturday, Sep. 14, at 11:00 A.M.