The Misericordia University women's volleyball team secured the #3 seed in the MAC Freedom Tournament after sweeping DeSales, 3-0, Thursday night on Doc Mould Court.
 
The Cougars downed the Bulldogs, 25-16, 27-25, 25-22.
 
Sophie Winter had a team-high 10 kills and five blocks and Faith Merritt finished with eight kills, 14 digs and an ace.
 
Fiona Pyfer had eight kills and 11 digs while Jenna Schuda finished with 28 assists and Jessica Cleveland added three aces.
 
After a slow start from both sides, the Cougars caught fire with a 12-1 run with Merritt and Cleveland provided two kills and two aces, respectively, during the spurt.
 
The Cougars ended the set on a five-point run with Massa delivering a late ace and a Pyfer kill putting the set away.
 
An early run in the second set gave MU an 11-4 lead.
 
The Bulldogs tied the set, 23-23, and had set point, 25-24. A kill from Winters kept the Cougars alive and put Misericordia in position to take the set.
 
MU got out to another hot start in set #3, and a setter-dump from Schuda made the score 12-6.
 
A DeSales run tied the game, 15-15, but kills from Merrit and Sadie Stockslager put MU back on top.
 
A final push from DeSales got the Bulldogs within one late, but Pyfer ended the rally with a kill for the 24th point and the Cougars never looked back.
 
Misericordia, 21-8, will travel to Arcadia for the MAC Freedom semifinals, Wednesday at 7:00.