Milton, Mass.- The Dean College Bulldogs split a non-conference doubleheader with Curry College and United States Merchant Marine Academy on Saturday, topping Curry 3-0 before falling to Merchant Marine 3-1. The result sends the Bulldogs to 2-5 on the season, while Curry drops to 0-8 and Merchant Marine improves to 5-2. 

Match One:
In the opening round, Dean faced off against Curry. The Bulldogs controlled the opening set, cruising to a 25-15 victory on the back of an 11-1 run that turned a 11-9 deficit into a 20-12 advantage.

The Bulldogs raced out to a 5-0 lead in the second set, only to see Curry rally and regain control of the lead at 14-11. Tied at 22, Dean scored the final three points, punctuated by a kill from Caitlin Cooper (Amherst, N.H.) and an ace from Sophie Malone (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) to take the second set 25-22.

Dean took control in the third set with a 7-0 run to give Dean a 15-7 lead midway through the frame. The Bulldogs extended their advantage to 24-16 on a kill from Katie Jones, and later put the game away on a service error from the Colonels. 

Emily Larouche (Agawam, Mass.) led the Bulldogs with six kills and nine digs. Sophomore Chloe Demaio (Needham, Mass.) added eight kills of her own. Sophomore Emma Siniscalchi (Huntington, N.Y.) contributed 11 assists.

Match Two:

The Bulldogs raced out to a lead in the second match of the day, outscoring Merchant Marine 25-19 in set one, despite being outscored 6-1 in the early going. Senior Emily Ball (Feeding Hills, Mass.) finished the game with a kill set up by senior setter Anabella Driscoll (Plymouth, Mass.). In a tightly contested second set, Merchant Marine pulled away with a 6-0 run to turn and 18-15 advantage into a 23-15 stranglehold. Dean fell behind early in the third set and never quite recovered, falling 25-15. In the fourth set, Merchant Marine took an 8-1 lead and later ballooned their advantage to 21-9. Dean threatened a comeback late but couldn't overcome the deficit, and USMMA held on for a 3-1 win.

Ball led the Bulldogs with 11 kills while also adding nine digs. Driscoll had 18 assists and seven digs of her own. First-year Maddy Seymour (Simsbury, Conn.) added four kills and 15 digs. 

Next up for the Bulldogs, a home contest on Wednesday against U-Mass Boston at 6:00 p.m.