The Briar Cliff women's volleyball team opened GPAC play Wednesday night, falling 3-0 to No. 2 Northwestern inside the Newman Flanagan Center. With the loss, Briar Cliff moves to 5-3 overall and 0-1 in GPAC play.
Briar Cliff fell behind early in the opening set as Northwestern built a 9-2 advantage. The Chargers responded with a 6-1 run to cut the deficit to 10-8, but the Red Raiders regained control and extended their lead late to take the opening set 25-16.
The second set featured an early back-and-forth battle, with BCU taking a 6-5 lead after kills from Brooklyn Voss and Aliyah Basham. Northwestern answered with a run of their own, eventually building an 18-10 advantage before closing out the set 25-13.
The Chargers battled in the third, tying the set at 2-2 before Northwestern moved ahead. BCU continued to fight, cutting the deficit to 15-13 following kills from Landree McNair and Caton Firkins. The Red Raiders pulled away late, however, taking the third set 25-19 to complete the sweep.
Voss and Firkins led the Charger offense with seven kills apiece, while Emma Brenelli added three and Aliyah Basham finished with two.
Mia Torchia and Reese Strouth each recorded eight assists, while Torchia added three digs and a service ace. Ireland Jackson led the defensive effort with nine digs and added two service aces.
Aubrey Hoeft and Voss each contributed three block assists, followed by Firkins with two, while the Chargers finished with 12 total.
Briar Cliff returns to action this Friday, heading down to Oskaloosa, Iowa for the William Penn tournament. Friday's games are set for 12 pm and 4 pm.
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