CHARLESTON, WV. – The D'Youville University Volleyball Team went 2-0 in the first day of the University of Charleston Tournament. The Saints defeated Bloomsburg University 3-2 in their first game and went on to defeat Bowie State 3-0 to finish the day.

Game One – D'Youville University vs Bloomsburg University (25-10, 17-25, 25-12, 14-25, 17-15)
Set One
The Saints started off strong taking the 5-1 lead against the Huskies. Bloomsburg fought to not fall too far behind, but the Saints extended their lead to 10-4 following kills from Mitha Hatwar (Columbus, OH / Olentangy Liberty) and Madeline O'Brien (East Amherst, N.Y. / Clarence) and a service ace from Alex Darby (Huntington, WV / Spring Valley). D'Youville stayed hot putting together a four-point run followed by a five-point run to take a commanding 22-9 lead. The Huskies managed to get one more point before Giselle Ramirez recorded the final kill for the Saints to start a three-point run and give the Saints the 25-10 win in set one.

Set Two
Matchplay started even in set two after a kill from Alex Darby and a service ace from Emma Wlostowski (Alden, N.Y. / Alden) tied the set at eight. The Huskies broke the tie first taking the lead and extending it after a seven-point run to put them up 23-15. Cameron Ulinski (Parkland, FL / Marjory Stoneman Douglas) recorded the final kill for the Saints before Bloomsburg took the set 25-17.

Set Three
The Saints offense picked back up in the third set as DYU took a big 9-3 lead to start the set. The Huskies fought back bringing the score close again, but D'Youville put together a four-point run to go up 18-9. The Saints were fine tuned by this point and another five-point run put DYU at game point. A final error from the Huskies gave the Saints the 25-12 win in set three.

Set Four
Bloomsburg came back strong in set four jumping out to a quick 12-7 lead. The huskies further extended their lead going on a 9-1 run to bring the score to 21-9. The Saints got three back, but it was not enough to stop the Huskies as they took the fourth set 25-14.

Set Five
The winner-take-all set was the closest set of the match. The Huskies took a 4-0 lead, but the Saints were ready with an answer as they tied the game back up. The Saints took their first lead of the set at 8-6 following another ace from Wlostowski and a kill from Giselle Ramirez (Miami, FL / School for Advanced Studies). The Huskies got back on top jumping up 14-13, but a Huskies error and kills from Madeline O'Brien and Alex Darby gave the Saints the 17-15 win in the fifth set and the 3-2 win.

Game Two – D'Youville University 3 vs Bowie State University 0 (25-16, 25-16, 26-24)
Set One
The first set began with a 3-3 tie, but the Saints took control going up 6-3. Bowie State stayed close, but with the game at 12-10 in DYU's favor, the Saints put up another three-point run to extend their lead to 15-10. D'Youville continued to climb and took the first set 25-16 following an attack error by Bowie State.

Set Two
The second set started much like the first with the score remaining close between the two teams. With the game tied at nine, D'Youville finally gained the two-point advantage following a kill from Cameron Ulinski. The Saints held the lead for the remainder of the set and Alex Darby delivered back-to-back kills to put the score at 25-16 in the second set win.

Set Three
The Saints came out dominate in the third set looking to put away the match. A service ace from Lauren Scully (Royal Palm Beach, FL / Wellington) and an error from Bowie State gave DYU the 10-4 lead. Bowie State battled back slowly and managed to take the 19-18 lead. D'Youville offense was not done fighting and quickly retied the score. The score went back and forth until Maddie Boglev (Hamburg, N.Y. / St. Mary's) and Alex Darby delivered the final two kills to give the Saints the 26-24 win in set three and the 3-0 match win.