Pride pull off season-opening comeback to take five-set thriller over Roosevelt

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Beginning a new era of Clarke University women's volleyball got off to an electric start as the Pride were able to pull off a 3-2 win over Roosevelt University on Saturday night in the Kehl Center.

Starting the 2022 season significantly shorthanded, CU was able to erase a 2-0 match lead by the Lakers to pull off the five-set victory by set scores of 22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23, and 15-9.

"I'm really proud of where we've come not only physically but mentally as a team," head coach Chris Miron said. "In our two weeks of preseason we've faced a lot of adversity in terms of injury and illness and we just didn't let it phase us, we hung in there. 

To begin the season, five of the Pride's 10 front row or attacking players were unavailable as it forced Miron to be creative with his lineup, moving Claire Smith and Lordiss Burton to the middle and sliding Maddy Melvin to the left side. 

Mevlin and fellow outside hitter Jessica Schaad both had busy nights as they combined for 32 of the team's 43 kills with Melvin finishing at a match-high 17 and Schaad opening her Clarke career with 15 kills.

Those two were set to attack 100 times between them as setter Cora Vyhnanek defaulted to her two outside hitters to finished with 32 assists and 17 digs to open her 2022 with a double-double.

Clarke made key runs at necessary moments with the help of the service ace as they finished with 18 as a team led by Morgan Sirianni's eight aces with only one service error as she played the second through fifth sets as a service sub for one of the middle hitter positions.

"Winning the last three sets to take it in five is just really a compliment to the team's mental toughness that we are trying to build in the program, and I couldn't be prouder of them," Miron said.