SALEM, Va. – The 2019 Maroon Classic started off on Friday, as the Mary Baldwin University women's volleyball team played in a pair of competitive matches on the campus of Roanoke College.

The Fighting Squirrels dropped the first match of the day in five sets (22-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-14, 13-15) to Ferrum before playing Roanoke to a 3-1 loss (13-25, 9-25, 25-23, 8-20).

In the first match of the day, MBU was paced offensively by freshman Rachel Christian who finished with a match-high 26 kills on .328 hitting to go with 18 digs. She also added three service aces and an assist, finishing with 29.0 points. Madison Varner and Deborah Black each finished with 10 kills, while Emma Tomlinson led the way with 41 assists and also added 10 digs and a pair of kills.

Defensively, Madison Cash led the team with 19 digs and she also helped with five assists. Brittany Sharon tallied 14 digs, while Nyla Isaac pitched in eight digs and a team-high five service aces.

In the second match of the night, Christian, again, led the way with a kill/dig double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs. Tomlinson pitched in with 20 assists, four digs and a block assist, while Cash finished with 12 digs and a pair of assists.

The Fighting Squirrels are back in action tomorrow, Sept. 7, for the final day of competition at the Maroon Classic. MBU faces Hollins in a rematch of their match from earlier this week before closing the weekend against Randolph.

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