The Misericordia University women's volleyball team dropped a close match to Elizabethtown College before falling to Franklin and Marshall College in their non-conference Senior Day tri-match, Saturday afternoon at the Anderson Center.
 
Down 2-1, MU rallied to force a fifth set against Elizabethtown in the first match of the day before losing the final frame. The Cougars went on to drop their second and final match of the day to F&M, 3-1.
 
Prior to the start of the first match, seniors Jessica Cleveland and Sadie Stockslager were honored for their contributions to the MU volleyball program.
 
Cassandra Genduso led the Cougars with 21 kills in the opener while Rachel LoFaso and Jennifer Nicometo both added 11 kills.
 
Cleveland had 22 digs and three aces and Jenna Schuda had 42 assists and two aces.
 
Nicometo had a team-high 12 kills against F & M and Schuda had 35 assists.
 
After taking an early 2-0 lead in the first set, both teams battled back and forth until the Cougars went on a four-point run with a pair of service aces from Sarah Journey to take a 13-8 lead. Later in the first frame, MU put up four more unanswered points capped by back-to-back kills by Cassandra Genduso. Misericordia ultimately won the first set, 25-16.
 
The Cougars dropped the second set 25-18. In the third set, MU battled back from an early 7-2 deficit to force a tied set before the Blue Jays pulled away with a 26-24 victory.
 
Down 4-3 in the fourth set, Jennifer Nicometo pulled off the longest service run of the day for the Cougars when she rattled off 10-straight points. During that span, Nicometo had one service ace while Genduso and Rachel LoFaso recorded four and three kills respectively. After the impressive run, MU found themselves with a 15-4 advantage and would take the set, 25-15 to force a decisive fifth frame. 
 
After finding themselves in a 5-1 hole in the final set, Misericordia battled back to within one point before Elizabethtown secured the set point and won the match, 3-2.
 
Genduso led the team with 21 kills and a .486 attack percentage. She and LoFaso shared the team lead in solo blocks with two apiece. Cleveland recorded a team-high 22 digs and three service aces. 
 
The Cougars showed resolve against a strong Franklin and Marshall team in their second match of the day, but fell three sets to two. 
 
After falling behind 4-0 early in the first set, Misericordia clawed their way back into a 15-15 tie, in large part thanks to five kills by Keira McCaffrey and service aces by Genduso and Cleveland. The Diplomats were able to stack points in the late stages and win the set, 25-18.
 
Costly service errors allowed F&M to keep the Cougars at an arm's length for a good portion of the second set. Down 20-15, MU rattled off three consecutive points to cut their deficit to two. Misericordia continued to fight down the stretch, going on a 4-1 run to draw themselves back to within two points of a tie. The Diplomats managed to notch one more point and take the set, 25-22.
 
Misericordia took their first lead of the match early in the third frame with a 2-1 advantage. After F&M pulled even, a kill from Genduso reclaimed the Cougars' lead, 6-5. The Diplomats maintained an advantage for a large stretch of the third set that was finally snapped by a LoFaso kill to put MU ahead by a score of 20-19. F&M continued to draw themselves even with Misericordia, however the Blue and Gold showed grit with their backs against the wall.
 
MU tied the match at 24, 25 and 26 points behind a pair of kills by Nicometo and one from Madison Tullo. On the next play, a kill by LoFaso gave the Cougars a 27-26 lead. LoFaso dropped the hammer yet again on the set point, spiking a ball just inside the end line to secure the 28-26 win in the third frame.
 
The Diplomats controlled play in the fourth set, responding to every MU surge with points of their own to claim a 25-14 set win. Misericordia fell to F&M, 3-1. 
 
Nicometo led MU with 12 kills, followed by McCaffrey's eight. Cleveland registered a pair of service aces and shared the team lead in digs with Jenna Schuda, as each Cougar tallied 10. Schuda also recorded 35 assists. 
 
The Cougars return to the Anderson Center for a MAC Freedom meeting with Lebanon Valley College, Wednesday at 7:00.