The University of Redlands women's volleyball team closed out opening weekend with split results at the Pacific Coast Classic on Saturday.  The Bulldogs took care of business in a 3-0 showing against Union College (NY) before dropping a four-setter to Brandeis University (MA).

Redlands built early leads in each of the three sets against Union, resulting in the 25-17, 25-23, 25-19 triumph.  The Bulldogs' most effective set came in the much tighter second, which included a .268 hitting percentage off 14 kills.

Junior outside hitter Christina Casey (Sherwood, OR) finished the match with an impressive .500 hitting percentage off nine kills and 16 attempts.  Senior setter Jackie Andrade (West Seattle, WA) and junior setter Emily Marty (Chula Vista, CA) shared the ball-distribution duties by combining for 25 assists.

Against Brandeis, the Bulldogs suffered their first loss of the season in a 20-25, 25-21, 18-25, 11-25 decision.  The Judges served tough to keep Redlands off-balanced throughout the match, leading to one of the key difference-makers. 

During the successful second set, Redlands broke a 14-all tie with quality kills by junior outside hitter Melanie Fyda (Chicago, IL).  Junior right-side hitter Maloree Kupp (Sunnyside, WA) joined the hit parade by firing off a few kills of her own to keep the Bulldogs in front.  Errors plagued the opponents late in the game, which led to the Maroon and Gray' 25-21 victory.

Unfortunately, the Bulldogs ran out of luck, as Brandeis answered with back-to-back wins in the subsequent sets.

Casey once again paced the Maroon and Gray with her nine-kill effort, while Kupp and Fyda knocked down eight apiece.

Redlands (3-1) heads to Thousand Oaks on Friday, September 7, and Saturday, September 8, for the Cal-Lu-Fornia Invitational.  The Bulldogs begin the tournament with Whitman College (WA) at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.