ASHLAND, Ohio - The Bloomsburg University women's volleyball team played two hard-fought matches on the opening day of the Ashland University Tournament on Friday and came away with a split to kick off the program's second season at the varsity level. Bloomsburg dropped its opener to Fairmont State, losing in three hotly-contested sets - 29-27, 25-19, 25-23 - before bouncing back for a stunning five-set victory over Felician - 25-21, 22-25, 25-22, 18-25, 16-14 - to begin the 2019 campaign with a 1-1 record.

In the opener against the Fighting Falcons, the teams battled through a total of 23 ties and 23 lead changes in the three sets.

Sophomores Mary Kate Mooney (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) and Grace Giza (Plymouth, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) paced the Huskies' offense in the first match. Mooney finished with a team-high 12 kills and added seven digs and two assisted blocks for a team-high 13 points. Giza chipped in with 11 kills while not committing a hitting error in 21 attempts (.521 hitting percentage) and added a solo block and an assisted block for a total of 12.5 points on the afternoon. Sophomore Sydney Buell (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) posted seven kills and a pair of service aces for nine points.

Freshman Brooke Kratzer (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) and sophomore Bryn Stek (Ambler, Pa./Upper Dublin) split time at the setter position with Kratzer posting her first collegiate double-double with 16 assists and 10 digs while tying with Stek in posting a team-high four service aces. Stek had a dozen assists and nine digs during her time on the floor. Junior Alyssa Cianciulli (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) paced Bloomsburg defensively with 15 digs.

The Huskies hit .211 for the match but allowed the Fighting Falcons to post a .269 hitting percentage on the day. Fairmont State committed only eight hitting errors over the course of the three sets. Julia DiPaola, Rebecca Feeney, and Amelia Moore had eight kills apiece in the win.

Buell, meanwhile, had the hot hand in the five-set thriller against Felician as she led the Huskies with 20 kills, eight digs, one solo block, and four assisted blocks for a match-high 24 points. The 20 kills are the third-most in a single-match in the program's abbreviated history.

Mooney posted a double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs for a total of 16.5 points. Giza added six kills but made her presence felt at the net with three solo blocks and four assisted blocks which added up to 11 points. Her seven total blocks marked a career high and broke her own school record of six she set last year at Susquehanna.

Kratzer had her second double-double in as many matches as she finished with 23 assists and 11 digs while Stek recorded her first double-double of the season with 19 assists and 12 digs. Cianciulli broke the school's record for most digs in a five-set match with 44 but was eight shy of her record of 52 established against West Virginia Wesleyan early last season.

Bloomsburg hit just .080 for the match but posted a school-record 15 total blocks in the victory. Tabatha Wagner paced Felician with 14 kills while Miquela Martinez had 32 assists and 25 digs in a losing effort.

The Huskies will close out the two-day tournament on Saturday with a 9:00 a.m. match against Notre Dame College and then a battle against host Ashland University at 7:00 p.m.