WALTHAM, Mass.- The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball team picked up a split to open up the 2015 season as they commenced play at the 2015 Bentley University Invitational in Waltham, Mass. The Golden Eagles opened up the day with a win in a five-set thriller over Chestnut Hill College, 3-2 (28-26, 25-27, 25-14, 17-25, 15-12). UMC fell to No. 17 Florida Southern College 3-1 (15-25, 25-23, 19-25, 18-25) despite winning the second set.

UMC looked to their lone senior in the first match as Stephanie Pearson (Sr., OH, Frankfort, Ill.) had 17 kills and 16 digs. Pearson hit .200 for the match. Maggie Perrel (R-So., RS, New Germany, Minn.) added eight kills, while Kali Erickson (Jr., OH, Fargo, N.D.) had nne kills and 13 digs and Kelci Green (R-So., MH, Anoka, Minn.) had seven kills, one solo block and four block assists.

Sierra Trost (Jr., S, Ham Lake, Minn.) had a strong day running the offense, as she had 45 assists and helped the team to a .130 hitting percentage. Defensively, libero Casey Cashman (Jr., Lib., Ashland, Wis.) led the way with 19 digs. Trost added 14 digs, while Kaycie Hagen (So., DS, Savage, Minn.) had 12 digs. In addition to Green on the block, Pearson added three block assists, as did Trost, while Erin Schwarz (Jr., MH, Eden Prairie, Minn.) had one solo block and three block assists.

Chestnut Hill was led by 13 kills from Madison McBride, while Samantha Gelfan added 10. Setter Kennedy Sutton had 39 assists and 12 digs on the morning. Defensively, Regina Trabosh led the way with 29 digs, while Mc Bride had 21 and Meghan Chiovitti had 13. On the block, Gelfan and Emily Koehler each had two block assists.

UMC would try to make it a sweep on the day, but they came up against the 17th-ranked Florida Southern Mocs. The Golden Eagles would come up with a big second set victory after hitting .294 on the set with just five errors, but Florida Southern would prove too much in the final two sets, taking the 3-1 win.

The Golden Eagles were led in the second match by Pearson, who ahd 10 kills and 13 digs. Perrel added nine kills and 14 digs, while Kelci Green had eight kills.

Trost would finish the second match with 34 assists. UMC would hit .123 for the match.

Defensively, Perrel's 14 digs led the way, followed by Pearson and Hagen's 13, while Trost had 10.

Florida Southern looked to the play of Anna Tovo, who had 16 kills and hit .382 for the match, while Brindi Langley had 13 kills and hit .267. Setter Bethany Besancenez had 28 assists on the match, while Lauren Shlemon had 16 assists.

Defensively, the Mocs looked to Kendall Marotti, who had 16 digs, while Nicci Joyce had 11. On the block, Marotti had four block assists and one solo block. Kayshia Brady had three block assists.

UMC will continue tournament play tomorrow, facing Bentley at 9 a.m. C.T., followed by a match against University of New Haven at 1:30 p.m. C.T.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

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The University of Minnesota Crookston is a NCAA Division II university located in the Red River Valley of Northwest Minnesota. UMC sponsors 11 intercollegiate athletic teams with membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate conference (NSIC) and the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). The NSIC is a 16-team conference with schools situated in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.