The Briar Cliff women's volleyball team dropped a pair of games Saturday in day two of the Charger Invite. The Chargers battled in their first contest of the day, dropping a five-set match to Valley City State and later fell in straight sets to Mount Mercy.

"This weekend was a good start to our season and gave us a good look at our strengths and weaknesses," said head coach Lindsey Weatherford. "I am proud of our efforts against a great VCSU team. Our hitter and setter rhythm were strong and we were digging playable balls."

After a quick start from the Vikings, the Chargers rattled off five straight points to take a 6-4 with a pair of aces from Sami Wasmund. BC took control of the first set with an 11-1 run, led by four kills from Chloe Jonson and two aces from Tannah Heath. The Chargers took set one 25-17. The Vikings took set two and three by the score of 25-23.
 
Set four was back-and-forth, but after a pair of runs from the Chargers, they took the fourth set after a kill from Olivia Petersen.  Valley City State took a quick 6-2 lead in the final set, but the Cliff cut the deficit to 10-13 after an Alexis Johnson kill. The Vikings closed out the match with a Morgan Frejie kill to take set five 15-11. 
 
Set one of game two was evenly matched between BC and Mount Mercy, but the Mustangs took control with a 5-0 run in the middle of the set. Set two was similar to the first, with neither team able to take a commanding lead. A Wasmund kill gave the Chargers a 25-24 lead, but three straight points from the Mustangs closed out the set. BC fell into a 9-3 hole in set three but battled back to pull within four points late. The Chargers were unable to take the lead and fell in straight sets.
 
"Mount Mercy's outside hitters were strong, and we faced some adversity in consistently blocking them," said Weatherford. "A couple of our players come off the bench and provided a spark in set two and helped us terminate balls at the end of the set!"
 
The Chargers will next compete in the CSM/United Sports Academy Labor Day Classic next Friday and Saturday. Their first match is against Saint Mary at 11:00 AM at the United Sports Academy.