The Lancaster Bible College women's volleyball team won its first match of the 2017 season on Wednesday night, defeating Cairn, 3-0 in Langhorne, Pa. Lancaster Bible won, 25-19, 25-15, 25-16 and the victory improves the Chargers to 1-3 this season, while Cairn fell to 0-3. 

How it Happened: Lancaster Bible won four straight points early in the first set to grab an 11-6 lead and eventually took an 18-12 lead midway through the set. Cairn hung tough and after a kill, benefited from six straight Lancaster Bible errors and took a 19-18 lead. The Chargers calmed down and went on to win the final seven points of the first set, four of them coming on aces by senior Lauren Grimm.

The teams traded points early in the second set as Lancaster Bible led 11-10, before the Chargers won six of seven points to grab a 17-11 advantage. Lancaster Bible maintained its lead and then won five of the final six points to close out the set at 25-15. 

Like the second set, the third was a back-and-forth affair through the early points before Lancaster Bible used a big scoring run to blow the set open. Leading just 12-11, Lancaster Bible won seven of the next eight points and all-but put the match away at 19-12. The Highlanders would cut their deficit to 21-15, but Lancaster Bible proved too tough and won the final four points, the last coming on an ace from junior Hannah Thompson.

By the Numbers:  Lancaster Bible had 39 kills, while the Highlanders had just 17...The Chargers also had 14 aces, while Cairn had zero...Freshman Aleah Heyworth led the Chargers with 11 kills, while junior Hannah Gipe had eight kills and two blocks...Senior Myranda Kemrer led all players with 17 digs, while freshman Bekah Roberts had a team-high four blocks...Sophomore Allison Shuey had five kills to go with 27 assists, three blocks and six digs...Shuey, along with Erin Harkey, Thompson, Kermer and Grimm each had multiple aces.

The Coach Says: "Kudos to Cairn for pushing our level in all three sets," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Jacki Smith said. "We found a way to get it done tonight, despite an off night offensively. Our defense and our sidelines anchored our win. Aleah Heyworth was solid on the right side for us and Myrand Kemrer led the way defensively with energy and effort."

Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 14-34 all-time against Cairn, but the Chargers have won five straight matches against the Highlanders and have not lost since the 2013 season...The victory was the first in the head coaching career of Jacki Smith...The Chargers started 0-4 last season, before earning their first win against Wilkes.

Up Next: Lancaster Bible opens North Eastern Athletic Conference play on Monday, Sept. 11 at Bryn Athyn...The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.