Union Volleyball Drops Two on Opening Day of Mountain Madness Tournament

MILLIGAN, Tenn. – The Union Commonwealth women's volleyball team (0-2) dropped its first two matches of the season Friday afternoon during the opening day of the Mountain Madness Tournament.

The Bulldogs opened play against Shawnee State (3-1) and later faced Blue Mountain Christian (1-0).

What Happened

Game 1: Shawnee State
Shawnee State opened the first set with an 8-1 run. Union and the Bears then traded points, bringing the score to 11-4. Despite a few service errors and back-and-forth scoring, the Bears extended their lead to 15-10 and closed the set on a 10-4 run to win 25-14.

Union started the second set strong with a 4-1 run, highlighted by kills from Jocelyn Marowelli, Berkli Benefield and Bella Townsend. Shawnee State responded with a 4-0 run, including two kills by Camille Hall. The teams exchanged points until the Bears led 20-15. Union tied it at 20, helped by four straight Shawnee State attack errors, but the Bears responded with five unanswered points to win the set 25-20.

The third set mirrored the first, as Shawnee State jumped out to an 8-3 lead. Union battled back with a kill by Benefield and a service error by the Bears, narrowing the gap to 13-11. The set remained close, and Union tied it late at 20-20 before taking its only lead of the match, 23-22, on another Benefield kill. Shawnee State, however, closed with a 3-0 run to take the set 25-23 and sweep the match, 3-0.

Benefield led the Bulldogs with 12 kills, while Marowelli added five.

Game 2: Blue Mountain Christian
Blue Mountain Christian dominated early in the opening set, racing to a 17-7 lead. Union mounted a late push with a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to 20-16, but the Toppers took the final five points to claim the set 25-16.

The second set saw another fast start from Blue Mountain, which opened on a 22-7 run. The teams traded late points, and the Toppers secured a 25-10 set win.

Union opened the third set with a 5-2 run, later extending the lead to 8-5. Blue Mountain answered with a four-point run to take a 9-8 lead. After several lead changes, Union held a slim 11-10 advantage before the Toppers surged ahead with a six-point run to go up 16-11. The Bulldogs battled back to within one at 20-19, but Blue Mountain closed the set on a 5-1 run to win the set 25-20 and the match 3-0.

Benefield was again Union's top attacker, finishing with six kills.

Up next, the Bulldogs face Faulkner (Al.) tomorrow at 10 a.m. followed by Oregon Tech at 12:30 p.m.