WELLESLEY, MASSACHUSETTS

The University of Maine at Presque Isle Women's Volleyball squad opened up their 2024 season with two of the tougher teams they will see all year. Babson College was their first opponent in a match that began at 11am. Later, they played Bard beginning at 1:30pm. The Owls struggled in both, but showed glimpses of promise for the rest of their season seeing many young players contribute in some big ways.

Game 1 Babson College (3-0): 9-25, 15-25, 9-25
The Owls struggled out of the gate but showed promise in their second set despite eventually losing in straight sets, 3-0. The two teams went back and forth for the first five points before Babson went on a quick 6-0 run to take a 9-2 lead in the first set. Later an 8-point run gave them a stranglehold on the first set eventually winning 25-9. Set two saw the Owls put up more of a fight matching blow for blow until Babson once again pulled away winning 25-15. In the last set, Babson never let the Owls get off the ground with three separate five or more point runs to win 25-19, prevailing in straight sets.

Top Performers:
Despite the result, UMPI still had some solid individual performances. Brooklynn Siebrasse led with 3 kills, supported by Jade Anspach and Faith Graham with 2 each. The serving game saw Kylee Blazick contribute an ace. At the net, Anspach and Graham made key blocks. Rylie Kolkow was pivotal with 4 assists and notable contributions in digs, alongside Alexis Engel who led with 6 digs. Overall, UMPI's effort was commendable in their first match of the year.

Game 2 Bard College (3-0): 19-25, 14-25, 19-25
The Owls were much more competitive in their second match of the day, this one against the Raptors of Bard College. UMPI lost a tight first set that started off well as they led at one point 6-2. Bard had a couple of key runs which allowed them to take back the lead and not give it up. In set two, the Owls once again had a slim lead early on, up 8-5 at one point. But then the Raptors got hot, winning 9 of the next 10 points and eventually prevailing 25-14. Set three was more of the same, and UMPI just could never seem to gain control falling in another close one 25-19.
 
Top Performers:
The heroes in this one for UMPI: Brooklynn Siebrasse led the team with 5 kills, while Faith Graham added 3 and Alexis Engel contributed 2. Engel was also a key player at the service line with 3 aces, with Jade Anspach and Faith Graham each adding one more ace. At the net, Jade Anspach and Evelyn Elijah each recorded a block.
Rylie Kolkow was instrumental in setting up the offense with 11 assists, while Engel and Myah Bragdon each added one assist. Defensively, Engel led with 9 digs, supported by Kylee Blazick and Kolkow, who each had 5 digs.

The Owls fall to 0-2 on the year and will travel to Northern Vermont next weekend to play two doubleheaders. One against Johnson and one against Lyndon.