BOCA RATON, Fla. - Lynn University's volleyball team went 1-1 on the opening day of the 2010 season, splitting its pair of first day matches as the hosts of the Courtyard by Marriott Invitational on Friday. The Fighting Knights kicked things off with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 27-25)victory over in-region foe Valdosta State before suffering a heartbreaking 3-2 (22-25, 21-25, 25-15, 25-23, 15-13) loss to 16th-ranked Lewis.
Five different Knights (1-1) tallied at least five kills against the Blazers (0-2), including a match-high 10 by Katie Bradley. Kala Abdell added eight, Sophie Gagnon and Chelsey Semprini each had six and Haley Pratt chipped in five. Devon Woolard paced the offense with a match-best 34 assists.
Defensively, Lacy Redwine collected 14 digs while Abdell chimed in with 10. Both Abdell and Gagnon had five blocks in the win.
In the nightcap, the Blue and White saw a 2-0 lead go to the wayside after the intermission against the Flyers (3-0). Battling into a fifth set, Lynn came back from a 13-10 deficit to knot things up at 13-13 but couldn't close out the victory.
Abdell led the Knights in the loss with 16 kills while Bradley has 14 and Gagnon added 10. Woolard added another 47 assists against Lewis and Mallory Deneen contributed a pair of service aces.
On the defensive side, Redwine led LU with 27 digs while Woolard and Bradley both notched double-doubles with 12 and 13 digs, respectively. Gagnon rejected a match-best eight blocks.
Lynn returns to action on Saturday with a pair of matches in the tournament. The Knights host Colorado-Colorado Springs at 11 am before closing out the invitational against California (Pa.) at 5 p.m.
