DEARBORN, Mich. -- Point Park University volleyball had a successful first day of the season on Friday winning both of its matchups at the University of Michigan-Dearborn Early Bird Challenge. The Pioneers (2-0) started out with a 3-0 sweep of host Michigan-Dearborn on the first match of the tournament on center court. Point Park capped off the day with a 3-1 win over Goshen (Ind.) by winning the final two sets.

POINT PARK 3, MICHIGAN-DEARBORN 0
The Pioneers put together a sweep of Michigan-Dearborn by scores of 25-20, 25-17, 25-21. Point Park out-gunned Michigan-Dearborn, 42-25, in total kills. Haley English and Taylor Small led the way with 11 kills apiece. Madison Sima posted six kills and zero errors in nine attempts. Camryn LaMonaca chipped in five kills, and Jada Jones had four.

Julia Menosky tallied 21 assists, four aces and eight digs. Fellow setter Brittney Bianco totaled six assists and 12 digs. Ashley Castelli got in on the passing with seven assists to go along with her seven digs. Micaela Shevell collected a team-high 17 digs, and English made it a double-double with her 16 digs.

The Pioneers trailed only briefly in the first set, 6-4, and then did not trail again until early on in the third. They opened up a 19-12 lead in the second set and then finished off the stanza by winning the final five points for the 25-17 win. Point Park battled back from a 10-4 deficit in the third for a later lead of 14-13. Menosky reeled off three service aces to build a 23-19 lead, and then kills by English and Small finished off the match.

POINT PARK 3, GOSHEN 1
Point Park improved to 2-0 with four-set win over Goshen (Ind.), 25-19, 13-25, 25-19, 25-21. The Pioneers bounced back from a second-set loss to win the final two sets and the match.

Taylor Small and Madison Sima shared the team-high honors with 11 kills apiece. Sima hit .350 for the match. Maria Ferragonio made her debut with 10 kills and a team-high 18 digs. Julia Menosky registered a double-double as well with 23 assists and 13 digs. Haley English put up eight kills and 17 digs. Jada Jones contributed five kills.

The Pioneers went ahead 1-0 in the match by winning the final four points of the opening set, 25-19. Goshen had control of the second set with the double-digit win. It carried over into the fourth set with Goshen getting out to a 10-3 lead. But the Pioneers went on a run of their own and eventually tied things up at 17-17 on the way to the win. Point Park won a close fourth set with the final margin of 25-21 being the biggest lead for either team.

NEXT UP
Point Park continues tournament action on Saturday at 11:30 am ET versus Bluefield (Va.) and then again at 2 p.m. ET versus Judson (Ill.). There are 12 teams at the Early Bird Challenge, and Point Park was one of three teams that went 2-0 on the first day. Bluefield went 0-2 on the day with losses to Goshen and UM-Dearborn. Judson lost to Madonna (Mich.) and then beat Bryan (Tenn.).

Tournament coverage includes live video and stats courtesy of UM-Dearborn. Click the links below for tournament information and coverage links:
Live Video I Live Stats I Tournament Page