ASTON, Pa. – The Neumann University women's volleyball team fell 3-2 in a tough five-setter on Thursday evening against St. Mary's College of Maryland.
 
Julia Solomon tallied 17 kills for the Knights. Melissa Eddy notched 14 and Nayeli Cruz added 12. Dani Smith handed out 46 assists. Hannah Strohm led the Knights with 20 digs. Smith notched 15, Eddy 14 and Kyla Sayson added 10.
 
The Knights jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the first set. A Seahawks service error gave Neumann the 25-16 set one win. St. Mary's opened the second set by scoring the first four points and tied the match at one with a 25-19 set two win.
 
Neumann took a 7-0 lead to start A kill by Bri Gautier put the Knights up 2-1 with a 25-18 set three win. Set four went back and forth. Tied at 24, the Seahawks notched two straight kills to take the 26-24 win and force a fifth set.
 
After trading the first two points in the fifth set, the Knights built a 5-1 advantage. Neumann held an 8-4 lead as the teams flipped sides. St. Mary's answered with the next three points to pull within one, 8-7. The Knights then rallied for four points and a 12-7 advantage. With Neumann leading 13-8, the Seahawks scored six straight points for a 14-13 edge. Two St. Mary's attack errors put Neumann up 15-14. Two Kills and a service ace by the Seahawks gave them the 17-15 fifth set and 3-2 match win.
 
Neumann (4-7) heads to Widener for a tri-match on Saturday. The Knights will face the Pride at 10:00 AM, followed by New Jersey City University at 12:00 PM.