KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Philadelphia University women's volleyball team opened its 2013 season with a 3-1 loss to host Kutztown in a non-conference match Thursday night in Keystone Arena.

The Golden Bears took the first two sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-16. After Philadelphia cut the margin in half with a 25-20 set three win, Kutztown closed out the match by winning the fourth set, 25-13.

Senior outside hitter Brittany Olson (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) led the Philadelphia offense with 11 kills and a .233 hitting percentage. Junior middle hitter Terra Ecker (Chapel Hill, N.C./East Chapel Hill) and senior middle hitter Jordan Milligan (Evansville, Ind./Central) added eight kills and seven kills, respectively.

Senior setter Heather Martin (Leola, Pa./Conestoga Valley) had 22 assists. Senior libero Morgan McCarthy (Beaver, Pa./South Side) led the defense with 15 digs.

Audrey Stringer posted a match-high 16 kills for Kutztown, while Llama Goodrich had 10. Anna Conti recorded a double-double with 36 assists and 15 digs.

Kutztown was strong offensively in the first set as it posted a hitting percentage of .303 and held Philadelphia to .061.

In set two, the Golden Bears took control by rattling off six consecutive points to turn a slim one-point lead into an 18-11 advantage.

In the third set victory, Philadelphia recorded 15 kills, including four from Ecker. After taking a 19-18 lead on a Golden Bear service error, the Rams secured the set by tacking on three straight points to increase the gap to 22-18.

Kutztown went on a 17-4 run to snap a 6-6 deadlock on its way to victory in the final set.

Philadelphia welcomes Molloy to the Gallagher Center for a non-conference showdown on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 12:30 p.m.