BUENA VISTA, Va.— The Marymount (Va.) University women's volleyball team fought past Capital Athletic Conference opponent Southern Virginia University in four sets on Saturday evening, 3-1 (25-21, 18-25, 27-25, 25-23).

Marymount jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in set one of the match, following up with a 4-0 run a few points later. The run gave Marymount a 13-6 lead and forced Southern Virginia to take a timeout. The Saints continued to pull away until the Knights pieced together a 5-0 run to come within four points, forcing the Saints to call a timeout. MU rallied again to close out the set on a 3-0 run, finished by a block consisting of the senior wall of Emileigh Rettig and Cailyn Thomas, 25-21. 

The Saints trailed early in set two but tied the game at six all. Both squads continued to battle point-for-point throughout much of the set. After trailing by three towards the end, the Saints used a timeout and Thomas came out swinging to get within two of the Knights, 17-15. The Knights kept up the pace on the offensive end and added three-straight points before the Saints were forced to take another timeout at 21-17. The last-ditch effort wasn't enough, as MU fell short, 25-18.

In set three, the Saints got behind 3-0 before answering with four-straight kills of their own to take a 4-3 lead. Marymount continued to swing and pieced together a 3-0 run sparked by a kill from sophomore Ashton Walker and junior Margaret McAlpin added back-to-back kills to take a 10-7 advantage. The momentum began to shift back-and-forth mid-set, before Head Coach Beth Ann Wilson took a timeout after trailing 21-19. SVU continued to build a lead until MU used its last timeout and made a late push, piecing together a 7-2 run to win the set in extra points, 27-25. 

The final set of the match proved to be the toughest battle yet, with neither team seeing more than a four-point advantage. The Saints used their first timeout after faling behind, 15-11. The timeout proved to be effective and resulted in three straight-kills from sophomore Caroline Hanson, Walker, and McAlpin. Following Marymount's final timeout, Thomas and Hanson posted back-to-back kills and senior Mallory Mitchell added an ace to tie Southern Virginia, 20-20. The blue and white took a 22-21 lead before the Knights called a timeout, but it didn't slow down the Saints. MU ended set four on an ace from Hanson to take the match, three sets to one. 

Thomas and McAlpin led the offense registering 13 kills apiece. Junior Christine Tieman and Hanson posted 23 and 19 assists, respectively. On the defensive end, freshman libero Theresa Buscemi picked up 16 digs.

The women will continue on the road in CAC action against Frostburg State University on Sunday, October 23. First serve is set for 3 p.m.