BRONXVILLE, N.Y. — The Pratt Institute women's volleyball team dropped its season opener to Sarah Lawrence College 3-0 on Thursday, falling 25-23, 25-9, 25-19 at the Campbell Sports Center.

Pratt (0-1) hung tight in a tense opening set, falling behind by as many as seven before a late surge erased two set points to pull within one before falling 25-23. Sarah Lawrence (2-0) kept the momentum and ran away in the second, hitting a .348 in the frame with 12 kills. 

The Cannoneers found their best stretch of the night in the third set erasing an early four-point deficit and grabbed their first lead of the night, 14-13, on a kill by Alison Sontag (Manhasset, N.Y.). Caroline Combs then served nine consecutive points, and the Gryphons reeled off a 9-0 run to pull away for good and close out the match..

Pratt got a team-high eight digs from Kelsy Padilla (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who also had two kills. Colleen Russell (Asbury, N.J.), Joanna Doyle (Warren, N.H.) and Soleil Wang (San Francisco, Calif.) each finished with three kills to share the team lead in that category. 

Russell also led Pratt at the net with five block assists, and Eden Shih (Manhattan, N.Y.) ran the offense for a team-high seven assists.

Sarah Lawrence out-hit the Cannoneers and finished with 37 kills to Pratt's 15. The Cannoneers held an edge at the net with six total blocks to the Gryphons' three.

Combs led the Gryphons with 12 kills, 11 digs and five aces. Vataj matched Combs with 12 kills of her own, and Costa directed Sarah Lawrence's offense with 31 assists.

Pratt returns to action against Mount Saint Mary College on Saturday, Sept. 5. First serve in Newburgh, N.Y. is set for noon.