ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College women's volleyball team opened the 2019 season going 2-0 through the first day of the Adrian Bulldogs Classic Tournament. The Bulldogs took Wilmington (Ohio) in straight sets to open the day, before a nail biting 3-1 matchup with Manchester.

THE BASICS

Final Score Match One: Adrian 3, Wilmington (Ohio) 0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-11)

Final Score Match Two: Adrian 3, Manchester 1 (25-14, 25-14, 24-26, 25-19)

Location: Adrian College (Merillat Sport and Fitness Center)

Records: Adrian 2-0, Wilmington 0-2, Manchester 0-1

HOW IT HAPPENED

Match One:

Adrian took down the Quakers in three sets, with scores of 25-9, 25-19, 25-11. Prior to the game both teams showed their support of the Lauryn Griewahn Lupus Awareness Foundation, wearing the foundation's logo on their warmups. Lauryn was a native of Adrian, Mich. and was a member of the Wilmington volleyball team before her passing in April 2018, attributed to complications from Lupus.

Due to technical difficulties, there is not currently a box score for this contest.

Match Two:

The Bulldogs looked to take their second match of the day in straight sets, claiming the first two by identical 25-14 scores. The Spartans put that idea to bed after narrowly claiming the third set 26-24. The set switched possession multiple times, finally knotting at 21-21 as Liz Susitko collected a kill of a Taylor Sinclair kill. Manchester came up with the set after a series of service and attack errors on the hosts' side of the court.

The final set was also full of intensity, with the visitors trailing by a margin of four late in the set. Adrian put their dreams of a fifth set and comeback capitalizing on several errors coupled with multiple great kills. Owning the game winning point was freshman Katelyn Bergman who was able to drive home the ball of a Susitko assist.

TOP DOGS

• Setter Liz Susitko proved to be extremely effective on offense, recording a team-best 33 assists. She also owned seven digs, six kills and one block assist.
• Senior Grace Welch was an offensive dream, collecting 10 kills on several impressive spikes. She posted second-best 11 digs and two assists.
• Libero Megan Prsa proved to be especially skilled on defense, collecting a team-best 14 digs and one block assist. She added two assists to the stat sheet.

UP NEXT

The Bulldogs return to action at 1 p.m. on Saturday, matching up fellow-MIAA competitor, Albion College.

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