Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SANTA CRUZ, CALIF. - The Bard College women's volleyball team opened the 2019-20 season with a pair of victories over Mills College (Calif.) and Husson University Friday, Aug. 30 at the 2019 Slugfest.

In match one versus Mills, the Raptors (2-0) got off to a strong start by picking up the first two sets (25-19, 25-16) to take a 2-0 lead. The Cyclones (0-1) were able to come away with the victory in a tightly-contested third set that saw four lead changes by a score of 25-23, pushing the match to set four. In the fourth, Bard took control and was able to put away the match with an impressive 25-15 victory in the set, winning the match 3-1.

Junior middle blocker Mikala L'Hote led the way for the Raptors in the first match with 13 kills. Senior setter Jewel Smith had a strong match, putting up seven kills, 30 assists, 20 digs and three aces. Senior defensive specialist Stella Gatti put together an all-around solid performance with nine kills, four assists aand 15 digs, while senior defensive specialist Emily Anastasi led the way for Bard with 31 digs.

In the matchup with Husson (0-1), the Raptors got off to a slow start as the Eagles took the first set by a 25-21 score. However, Bard would come back strong and take the next three sets (25-17, 25-22, 25-20) to pick up another 3-1 victory and improve to 2-0 on the season.

Head coach Stefanie Carrington was pleased with her team's performance on the day, saying, "I'm extremely proud of the way the team came together to start the season. The senior leadership has been extraordinary from preseason right up through this opening day of play. We're asking a lot of each player because of our small roster size and they've each gladly given everything they have to the team to kick off what I know will be a memorable season for Bard Volleyball."

The Raptors will look to continue their hot start to the season out west when they take part in day two of the 2019 Slugfest tomorrow, Aug. 31. Bard will first take on Franklin College at 12:30 p.m. (ET), then will finish up their California trip with a 3:00 p.m. (ET) matchup with the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Box scores for all games will be available in the near future.