MALVERN, Pa. – The Cairn University women's volleyball team lost, 3-1 (20-25, 14-25, 25-17, 24-26) on the road at non-conference opponent Immaculata University in four sets on Thursday evening.
 
Immaculata (4-3) jetted out to a 20-13 lead in the first set, before Cairn (7-2) got back into it with a five-point rally to trim the deficit to two (20-18). The Mighty Macs finished off set one by scoring five of the last seven points to take a 1-0 match lead. After Immaculata claimed a comfortable 25-14 win in set two, Cairn responded with a 25-17 win in set three, led by sophomore Caroline Conrad (Bangkok, Thailand / International Community School) with six kills in the frame. Set four was a barn burner, with 10 total ties in the set as Cairn garnered a 24-22 advantage near the end of the stanza, looking to send the contest to a fifth-and final set. However, Immaculata responded by scoring the final four points to finish off the Highlanders and claim a 3-1 match victory.
 
Cairn was led offensively by Conrad who tallied a career-high 15 kills. Senior Kali Burres-Cheeley (Wanaque, NJ / Hawthorne Christian) followed with eight kills and 18 digs. Junior Olivia Zepp (Westminster, MD / Francis Scott Key) dished out 20 assists and scooped up a career-high 19 digs (both team-highs). Senior Lizzy Fay (Langhorne, PA / Neshanimy) added 14 digs and freshman Payton Cline (Falling Waters, WV / Heritage Academy) corralled 13 digs on the back row.
 
The Highlanders will be back on the hardwood on Saturday, September 24 when they kick off Cairn's homecoming festivities in the first bout of the day with non-conference foe Rutgers-Newark inside the Mason Activity Center at 11 a.m.