Goldey-Beacom volleyball opened its season on the road at the Tony Banner Memorial Tournament in Clarion, PA and ended the night with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Roberts Wesleyan (25-18, 19-25, 22-25, 25-16, 15-10) after a 3-0 loss to Clarion (25-27, 19-25, 23-25).

The young Lightning squad came out strong against Clarion in the opening match of the season, and despite the loss, showed strong offensive and defensive skill. Sophomore Gaby Fernandez (Arecibo, P.R.), tabbed second team All-CACC last season, paced the defense with an impressive 25 digs, and freshman Kelci Gingras (Orem, Utah) led the offense with 10 kills. 

Clarion was led by Raegan Stader with 11 kills and Haley Fledderjohann with 17 digs. 

Match two saw Goldey-Beacom pick up its first win of the season with a five-set victory over Roberts Wesleyan. The Lightning dominated in the first set, tallying 12 kills with only two errors and hitting a strong .348 percentage. Roberts Wesleyan took the next two sets but Goldey-Beacom turned things back around in the fourth set, holding the Redhawks to a -.050 hitting percentage while hitting .200 themselves.

The Lightning had control the entirety of the fifth set with 11 kills in only 22 attacks and hitting a solid .455 in the set. Fernandez once again led the defense on both sides with 25 digs and freshman Cassie Hall (Williamsburg, Va.) paced the offense with 14 kills. Junior Giuliana Jaku (Belluno, Italy) added 13 kills of her own, Gringas notched nine kills and sophomore Juliana Malena (Miami, FL) finished with 27 assists. 

Roberts Wesleyan was led by Camryn Karelus with 21 kills and Ryan Hull with 20 digs.

Goldey-Beacom returns for day two of the tournament tomorrow, when it faces Seton Hill at 11:30 am and Shippensburg at 4:30 pm.