WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Catholic University women's volleyball team fell to Stevenson in three sets on Wednesday night, snapping the Cardinals' three-game win streak. Freshman Halie Murphy led Catholic (5-7) with 11 kills on offense, hitting .231 for the match while senior Brittany Connatser had 10 kills while hitting .280. The duo continues to perform, combining for 270 of the team's 502 kills in 2022. 

After a competitive start to the first set, the Mustangs went on a late run, scoring 16 of the final 22 points in a 25-15 set win. Back-to-back kills from junior Olivia Blondin and Connatser put Catholic within one early before a solo block from sophomore Grace Guerin tied the set at 9-9. The Mustangs scored six of the next seven to take a 15-10 lead before pulling away and going up 1-0 in the match. 

The Cardinals fell behind 11-6 in the second set before ripping off three straight to get it back within two. Catholic kept it close with a Murphy kill making it 15-13, but Stevenson began to pull away, taking a 20-15 lead. Both teams traded points until Stevenson scored the final two to finish off set two 25-19. 

Catholic once again got off to a slow start in set three, falling behind 6-0. The Cardinals got it back within two points multiple times throughout the set, but got no closer as the Mustangs took the final set 25-19. A Heather Stout timeout led to a 6-2 run for Catholic after the slow start, cutting the deficit to 8-6 on a Connatser kill. Stevenson jumped ahead once again, this time 16-10 before Catholic chopped the lead down to two on a block from Guerin and Connatser that made it 16-14. Another Murphy kill made it 19-17, but the Mustangs scored six of the last eight to finish the match and improve to 11-1 on the season. 

Junior Sydney Sheppard had 20 assists and 12 digs for Catholic. Guerin notched seven blocks with three solos and four block assists on the match. 

Stevenson outhit Catholic .196 to .090 with Shannon Baily leading the way with 12 kills. Stevenson libero Kayla Vaeth led the match with 14 digs. 

Catholic is back in action at the Worthington Classic hosted by Gallaudet this weekend. The Cardinals will face DeSales and Salisbury on Friday.