WESTMINSTER, Md. – Bethany pulled out a closely-contested first set en route to a 3-0 win over McDaniel in the first round of the 2017 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) volleyball tournament on Wednesday.

Marlowe Embry (Milpitas, Calif./J.H. Pitman) led the Green Terror (19-9) with seven kills and 17 digs while also adding a pair of aces.

Lindsey Llewellyn paced a balanced attack for the Bison (23-12) with nine kills and hit .381 on the night.

After a back-and-forth start to the first set, a Natalie Spitale kill started a 5-0 Bethany run to give the visitors a 9-4 lead. An Emma Lorenzen (Hagerstown, Md./South Hagerstown) ace and back-to-back Bison errors closed the deficit to 9-8. Two Maggie Merren aces stretched the lead back to 13-9 and the teams traded mini-runs the rest of the way, resulting in a 25-22 Bethany win.

A Llewellyn kill and Katie Sparks ace ignited a 9-0 run that turned an 11-9 edge into a 20-9 lead in the second set. Keyed by three kills and an ace by Embry, the Green Terror closed to within 23-20. The teams traded service errors before Lauren Wells (Glen Allen, Va./Glen Allen) and Ashley Veryser exchanged kills to end the set, 25-22.

The third set featured nine ties and 17 lead changes before back-to-back Kelli Terry aces helped turn an 11-9 deficit into a 14-11 lead for the Bison en route to a 25-19 victory.

Lorenzen added six kills and three total blocks while Allie Lugar (Wilmington, Del./Dupont) and Teryn Rath (Grass Valley, Calif./Bear River) added five kills each. Gayle Edelsetein (Livingston, N.J./Livingston) added 16 assists, 10 digs and two aces.

Taylor Bauman (Charlottesville, Va./Albemarle) steadied the defense with 19 digs to finish her record-setting season with 580.

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