LANGHORNE, PA – On Saturday, Cairn Women's Volleyball hosted a double header against Notre Dame of Maryland University, splitting the day but winning the conference game of the series
 
Cairn (11-3 / 4-0 UNITED EAST) started off with a 6-2 lead as sophomore middle Georgianna Thorpe (Southampton, PA / William Tennent) and senior opposite hitter Hendryl Peabody (Bensalem, PA / Faith Baptist Christian Academy) each had two early kills. Notre Dame (11-7 / 2-2 UNITED EAST) took their first lead of the day, 12-11 on three-straight points. Thorpe added two more kills before senior outside hitter Caroline Conrad (Bangkok, Thailand / International Community School) and Peabody got the Highlanders to twenty points with graduate setter Olivia Zepp (Westminster, MD / Francis Scott Key) adding an ace. With the score tied up nearing the end of the first set, junior outside hitter Bridget Dahn (Smithsburg, MD / Heritage Academy) finished the rally with a kill assisted by Peabody.
 
Starting the second, Dahn ended the Gators' early run with a kill. With this, the Gators put Cairn into out-of-system play, which was maintained with assists from both junior libero Payton Cline (Falling Waters, WV / Heritage Academy) and Dahn, keeping things tied at ten apiece. With a beautiful pass from freshman defensive specialist Liliana Magazzu (Reading, PA/ Exeter Township), Thorpe sent another two kills to the Gators' side, taking a 14-13 lead. Dahn increased the lead with back-to-back aces, running ahead 21-16 before Conrad delivered two kills to win the set (25-18).
 
With a rocky start to the third down 11-7, Conrad got another out-of-system kill from Peabody. The Gators had another run, which fueled responding attacks from Dahn and Conrad, closing the gap to a six-point deficit before sophomore middle blocker Madison Delp (York, PA / Clarks Summit University) closed their run with a rejection at the net. The comeback would fall short as Cairn dropped the set, 25-16.
 
Opening down 4-2 in the fourth set, Magazzu brought an ace to deck as things remained neck and neck before the Highlanders went running with adrenaline. The offense then got rolling with a big run to go ahead 14-9, held off by a Notre Dame attack before banking a 20-16 lead. An ace from sophomore defensive specialist Delaney Hollenback (Kingsley, PA / Lackawanna College) started Highlander's final run of the game, accompanied by a kill from Conrad and a finishing kill from Delp to take the conference match 3-1.
 
With the win in the first match, Cairn defeated Notre Dame for the first time in ten years.
 
Match two had a different tone for a non-conference battle. Freshmen Maddie Shackelford (Warrington, PA / Plumstead Christian) and Addy Benjamin (Laurel, DE / Homeschool) opened the game with a kill each to give the Highlanders a small lead. After Notre Dame took control, Zepp swung it back over to it with two aces, now ahead 12-10. The Gators would score three ahead of a kill by Shackelford to tie the set. Notre Dame would finish on a 12-4 run, including seven unanswered points, taking the set, 25-17.
 
In set two, both squads traded trios of points to open up with sophomore outside hitter Madison Searls (Seaford, DE / Salisbury Christian) and Delp keeping things tied up ahead of junior outside hitter Abigail Di Sipio (East Earl, PA / Homeschool) giving Cairn the lead. Sophomore opposite hitter Audrey Elisondo (Bethesda, MD / James I O'Neill) added two aces to build an 18-15 lead. The Gators quickly turned the tide and ran ahead, taking the second set 25-22.
 
After being down 6-3 to open the third frame, Cairn fought back into the game with another set of kills by Searls and Delp to help tie the score before Shackelford and Benjamin teamed up with a kill each, and two aces by Magazzu, to go ahead 17-12. This time, Cairn would sprint to the finish, closing the set on eight unanswered scores fueled by four aces from the hand of Hollenbeck, 25-15.
 
Notre Dame got out to a 11-5 lead in the fourth, running up to 14-7 ahead of Cairn's run to cut the lead to one on an assisted block between Delp & Benjamin and kill from Delp. The Gator responded in force, winning the final set by the reverse score, 25-15, and splitting the day.
 
In match two, Shackelford and Delp each had five kills as Dahn added three. Zepp and Hollenbeck each had a great game from the service line with four aces apiece, seconded by Elisondo and Magazzu with three each.
 
Cairn will host Rosemont on Tuesday night as they continue conference play inside the Mason Activity Center at 7 p.m.