BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (Sept. 4) – The Vulcans opened the season on Friday afternoon with a pair of losses to No. 18 Ferris State and Saginaw Valley State, both members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), at the Ferris State Invitational.

The California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team opened play on Friday afternoon with a 3-0 loss (18-25, 14-25, 13-25) against the host Bulldogs after being held to a .022 hitting percentage. Senior Mary Lavery (La Plata, Md./La Plata), junior Danielle Hayes (Erie, Pa./McDowell) and sophomore Ashley Leto (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) each led the team with five kills, as Cal U totaled just 19 kills on 92 attacks. Sophomore Taylor Solo (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) and junior Megan Litoborski (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) directed the offense with a combined 17 assists in the loss.

Leto also paced the defensive effort with 11 digs, while junior Abby Matusik (Mars, Pa./Mars) and Litoborski tallied nine and seven digs, respectively. The Vulcans managed just two block assists in the three-set loss to Ferris State, who captured both the regular-season and tournament titles in the GLIAC last year.

The Vulcans later suffered a 3-1 loss (25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 22-25) against the Cardinals. Hayes registered a team-high 13 kills on 43 attacks. Freshman Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) collected 10 kills on a .348 hitting percentage, while Leto also totaled 10 kills in the loss. Litoborski and Solo each recorded 17 offenses while guiding the offense to a .177 attack percentage.

Leto finished with a kill/dig double-double behind a team-best 18 digs and Litoborski posted an assist/dig double-double with 13 digs. Freshman Bayleana Sowers (Mt. Wolf, Pa./Northeastern) added 15 digs against Saginaw Valley, while four players tallied multiple blocks.
 
Cal U returns to action in Michigan tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 5, when they face Metropolitan State-Denver (Colo.) and McKendree (Ill.).