Potsdam, NY – The SUNY Canton women's volleyball team played tremendous defense but the Roos playing without senior middle Morgan Bills (Walworth, NY) dropped a 3-1 decision (11-25, 25-15, 23-25, 12-25) to Muhlenberg College on the first day of the Clarkson Tournament on Saturday.

It took the Roos (16-5) some time to hit their stride playing without one of their top hitters in Bills. SUNY Canton recovered with strong play in the second and third sets but fell just short.

In the opener the Mules (14-5) jumped out quickly with plenty of offense from both the outside and the service line by Katherine Boll. The Mules cruised to a first-set victory before the Roos discovered some incredible defensive intensity and an answer for the Muhlenberg block in the second set, coming away with a convincing set-victory of their own.

The third set was the most interesting of the match as the two teams jostled back and forth throughout. With the set tied at 23-23 late, the Mules got kills from Sarah Weyhmuller and Allison Glass to close out the game and take a 2-1 advantage. Muhlenberg maintained its momentum from the third set to the start of the fourth, taking the first eight points to open the set. The Roos pulled to within five, but the Mules pulled out the four set win.

Kelsy Cornish (Honeoye, NY) and Haley Riley (Lowville, NY) each delivered 11 kills and Peyton Robinson (Bloomfield, NY) produced 30 assists. Robyn Carroll (Bowmanville, ON) was particularly impressive on the back line with 25 digs. Lindsay Bryer (Wilson, NY) produced 17 digs and Cornish also tossed in 11 digs. Sophomore Kristyn Sengillo (Hilton, NY) posted a career-high six kills in Bills absence.

The women's volleyball team is back in action on Sunday in the Clarkson Tournament. They face Susquehanna at 10 a.m. followed by a 5:30 p.m. showdown with No. 18 nationally-ranked Clarkson.