KUTZTOWN, Pa.—The Southern New Hampshire University volleyball team dropped their season opener on the road to Kutztown University in the Kutztown Classic by a score of 3-2 on Friday. The
non-conference matchup would drop SNHU to 0-1 while Kutztown is now 1-1. 

The Penmen would win the first two sets with scores of 27-25 and 25-16, but the Bears would come back to win three straight sets to earn the win (26-24, 25-26, 15-10).

Senior captain Erica Solomon (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) led the Penmen with 17 kills on the day, along with a team high 24 digs.

The freshmen class would see a lot of action, while putting up impressive numbers as well. Defensively, Maeghan Higgins (Hesperia, Calif.) totaled 23 digs for the Penmen, while also posting two service aces. Emma Houlihan (Shoreham, N.Y.) tallied 17 kills to match Solomon's, along with two digs and one block. Also, Nina McGouldrick (Richardson, Texas) was accountable for 12 of SNHU's 59 kills on the day.

Penmen setter, Kendra Mikuta (Orland Park, Ill.), led the way while matching her career-high match-best 52 assists. Mikuta also contributed two service aces, one block, and 16 digs for SNHU.

For the Bears, Brittany Harman would total 13 kills along with 18 digs, while Kim Gomber dished out 17 assists along with two service aces en route to the win for Kutztown.

The Kutztown Classic will continue tomorrow as SNHU is scheduled for a doubleheader. The Penmen will play the University of the Sciences for a 12:00pm game, and will face Virginia Union at 4:00pm.