SCRANTON, Pa. - The Catholic University volleyball team opened Landmark Conference play Saturday at Scranton with matches against the Royals and Elizabethtown.

Sophomore Olivia Blondin led the Cardinals (3-15, 0-2 LC) with 14 kills and 13 digs on the day while senior Caroline Kelly had 25 digs. Kelly is now ranked 10th in program history with 1,363 career digs. 

Scranton 3, Catholic 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-18)

Junior Brittany Connatser led the team with nine kills against the Royals while Blondin had six kills and four digs.

Catholic jumped out to a 7-5 lead in the first set before Scranton (16-2, 1-0 LC) scored 10 of the next 13 points to take a five-point advantage. Led by a kill from Connatser and three Royal errors, the Cardinals pulled within 16-14.

Taking advantage of three Catholic attack errors, Scranton used a quick 4-0 spurt to take a six-point lead before sealing the victory on a kill by Trinity Manning.

After falling behind 6-1 in the second set, the Cardinals scored seven consecutive points to take their first lead, highlighted by two service aces from Kelly and a kill by Connatser. With the set tied at 11-11, the Royals scored eight of the next 11 points, including three on kills from Stephanie Margolies to match their largest lead at five en route to a five-point victory.

Connatser totaled five of her nine kills in the set as she and Blondin combined for all seven of the team's kills.

The third set featured six ties and three lead changes, the last of which came on a kill by Manning that gave Scranton an 8-7 lead. The Royals led 20-14 before sealing the match on back-to-back attack errors by Catholic.

Kelly finished with 15 digs while freshman Mya Sullivan totaled 15 assists and four digs. Senior Mackenzie Collier added nine digs.

Elizabethtown 3, Catholic 0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-22)

Blondin led the way with eight kills and nine digs while freshman Courtney Pohl added six kills and Kelly had 11 digs.

After Pohl scored the opening point of the match with a kills, the Blue Jays (11-2, 2-0 LC) scored the next five before stretching their lead to as many as nine. Blondin totaled four kills and six digs in the first set, posting a .333 hitting percentage.

The Cardinals were limited to just three kills in the second set as they had 12 attack errors as Elizabethtown led from start to finish.

The third set saw five ties and five lead changes as the Blue Jays jumped out to a 7-3 advantage before five-straight points gave Catholic an 8-7 advantage. However, Elizabethtown scored the next six points to take a 13-8 lead.

Despite a late run by the Cardinals, keyed by two kills from Blondin and one from Connatser, to pull them within 23-20, the Blue Jays held on to post their seventh-straight win.

Collier added another nine digs in the loss while junior Alycia Powers had 20 assists and four digs.

Catholic continues Landmark Conference play on Wednesday when it hosts Goucher in the team's first home match since Sept. 8. First serve is at 7 p.m.