The Chestnut Hill College Volleyball team tipped off their 2026 season on Friday with the first two of four games at the Ram Rumble hosted by Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, Pa.
The Griffins opened the season with a 3-1 loss to Frostburg State University and followed that up with a 3-1 win over Shaw University to start the season at 1-1.
Against Shaw, the Griffins took the first two sets 25-22 and 25-12 before Shaw won the third set 25-11. Chestnut Hill captured the match with a 25-22 win in the fourth set.
Parys Boykin led the Griffins with nine kills and four service aces. Kass Kimmel added six kills while Macayla Lindner chipped in five. Sofia Rodriguez has 19 assists setting the Griffin offense while Alex Crespin added three aces. Rachel Mace and Sarah Allen recorded 112 and 10 digs respectively while Boykin and Kimmel had three and two blocks respectively.
The Griffins trailed for most of the first half of the opening set before taking their first lead, 12-11 on a Kimmel kill. Chestnut Hill gradually increased the lead to 21-16 following a Crespin ace before the Bears scored five straight points to tie the set at 21-21. Two kills and an ace from Boykin gave the Griffins set point before a Shaw service error clinched the set win for the Griffins, 25-22.
The second set was all Chestnut Hill as they scored the first four points before Shaw followed with four straight points of their own. The Griffins broke the tie with an 8-1 run and never looked back, increasing the lead to double digits en route to the 25-12 set win.
Shaw controlled the third set in a similar fashion with a 15-3 run erasing an early 3-2 CHC lead and gave the Bears a double digit advantage 17-6 before taking the set 25-11.
The Bear's momentum carried into the fourth set as they jumped out to a 12-6 lead. The Griffins rallied to tie the set at 17-17 and kept within striking distance, taking their first lead 21-20 on a Boykin ace. A kill from Lindner broke a 22-22 tie and two bad sets from the Bears gave the match to the Griffins with a 25-22 win in the set.
In the opening match, Frostburg won the first set 25-23 before the Griffins evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-17 win in the second set. Chestnut Hill battled but dropped the final two sets 25-19 and 25-17.
Lindner led all players with 13 kills while Kimmel chipped in seven. Allen had three aces and Rodriguez recorded 26 assists setting the CHC offense. Mace led the team with 17 digs while Lindner chipped in nine. Boykin had two blocks.
The women's volleyball team returns to action on Saturday, August 29 for their final two matches of the tournament. Chestnut Hill will face host Shepherd at 1:00 p.m. before playing fellow conference rival Goldey-Beacom College at 5:00 p.m.
