CHESTER, Pa. – The Neumann University women's volleyball team split a tri-match on Saturday. The Knights fell at Widener University 3-0 before battling Rochester Institute of Technology
and coming away with a 3-2 win.
 
In the first match against the Pride, Melissa Eddy tallied six kills and 18 digs. Julia Solomon added six kills. Hannah Strohm finished with 14 digs Set scores were 25-12, 25-19 and 25-17.

The Pride jumped early and built a 9-0 lead in the first set. In set two, Widener took a 4-4 score and notched the next four points to an 8-4 lead. The teams battled the rest of the set, but the Pride used that slight edge to take set two. 

The Knights took an early lead in set three. Tied at nine, Widener scored six of tne next seven to take a 15-10 advantage. Neumann pulled back to within one before the Pride went on another run for a 22-15 lead. Widener was able to secure the three points needed to take the set and the match. 
 
Neumann battled to a five-set win over RIT in its second match of the day. Solomon led the team with 12 kills and Eddy added 11. Liv Bowers handed out 16 assists and Kyla Sayson dished out 13. Strohm tallied 15 digs and Solomon added 11.
 
The first set opened with a back-and-forth battle. Eddy delivered a critical kill at 24-24, followed by a service ace from Sayson, securing a dramatic 26-24 victory for Neumann. RIT held the pace in set two and used a few three and four point runs for the 25-13 win to tie the match at one.
 
Down 5-4 in set three, the Knights scored five straight points to take a 9-5 advantage. A late surge, highlighted by two service aces by Bowers, expanded Neumann's advantage to 21-14 and set the stage for Taylor Long to close the set with a decisive kill, sealing a 25-18 victory.
 
The Knights jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the fourth set. The Tigers used a six-point run to take a 13-10 advantage. The teams then went back and forth down the stretch and were knotted at 22 on a kill by Eddy. This time, RIT hung on for the 26-24 win to force a fifth set.
 
RIT took early control in the fifth set, taking a 10-4 lead in the race to 15. Neumann scored the next four points to pull within two, 10-8. The Tigers answered with the next four points. With RIT sitting at match point, the Knights rattled off seven straight points, including two service aces by Strohm, to take a 15-14 edge. The Tigers tied the match at 15 and for the third time in the match, extra points were needed. An RIT attack error set up a kill by Austin Raymer to give Neumann the 17-15 set and 3-2 match win.
 
Neumann (4-8) heads to Bryn Mawr on Wednesday for action beginning at 7:00 PM.