Misericordia University Athletics

The Misericordia University women's volleyball team dropped its season opener to the University of Scranton, 3-0, Tuesday evening in the Anderson Center.
 
Keira McCaffrey led the Cougars with seven kills, while Jennifer Nicometo added six and Gabi Cashman recorded four.
 
Misericordia got on the board first in the opening set when Nicometo served an ace. Scranton responded with a 7-0 run, but the Cougars battled back with an 8-3 run to even the score at 9-9.
 
The Royals regained control and held on for a 25-17 win.
 
The second set featured a back-and-forth battle with neither team able to build more than a two-point advantage through the first half of the set.
 
Misericordia trailed 12-11 before Scranton used a quick run to take a 20-14 lead.
 
A kill by Cassandra Genduso sparked the Cougars, who responded with a 7-1 run to tie the set at 21-21.
 
Scranton briefly regained the lead with a kill, but McCaffrey answered with a block to knot the score at 23-23.
 
The teams continued to trade points, with kills from each side making it 24-24. A Misericordia service error followed by a Royals kill gave Scranton the 26-24 victory and a 2-0 lead.
 
Misericordia remained within striking distance throughout much of the third set as a kill from Katie Royds brought the Cougars within 11-10.
 
Scranton, however, closed the set strong to secure a 25-19 win.