CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College volleyball team concluded its regular-season schedule with a four-set loss to Philadelphia University in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference match Saturday afternoon in the George R. Newman Center. The result gives the Cougars, who already clinched the CACC North Division, an overall record of 17-10, including a 13-4 mark in the conference. The Rams, who won by scores of 25-18, 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, are 19-12, 14-4 CACC.

Philadelphia took control of the first set with eight straight points on the service of Natalie Amodei. The Rams cruised to a first-set win, hitting .364 with 14 kills against just two errors. It was more of the same in the second set, with the Rams taking advantage of 10 Caldwell attack errors en route to a 25-18 win. The Cougars turned things around, hitting .333 with freshman right side Amber Mosher (Flanders, NJ/Mount Olive) and freshman setter Lauren Roth (Findlay, OH/Findlay) each recording four kills in the third set. Sophomores Keesha Francois (Elkins Park, PA/Cheltenham) and Justine Pecora (Clifton, NJ/Mt. St. Dominic Acad.) pitched in three kills apiece as the Cougars stayed alive with a 25-21 win. But four kills each from Molly Malone, Katie Miller and Cindy Adams allowed Philadelphia to hold off Caldwell and win a close fourth set, 25-20 to take the match.

Francois led the Cougars with 11 kills and a .348 hitting percentage, while Roth finished with 33 assists and 10 digs for her seventh career double-double. On the defensive side of the net, freshman middle blocker Titilola Alao (Ossining, NY/Ossining) had three blocks, and sophomore libero Kathleen Estes (Lyndhurst, NJ/Lyndhurst) recorded 12 digs. For the Rams, Miller and Adams each had 12 kills, with Miller tallying 10 digs and Adams recording 13 digs. Miller did not have a hitting error in 28 attempts, hitting .429 for the match.

The loss marked the final regular-season home match for senior outside hitter Laura Ciesla (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech) and senior middle blocker Ashley Cusack (Long Branch, NJ/St. Rose), pictured. The two seniors are among three players remaining from the program's inaugural season of 2006.

The Cougars will have another home match, as the top-seeded Cougars will host fourth-seeded Nyack College in the quarterfinals of the CACC Tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 11. The match is set to start at 7:00 p.m. in the Newman Center.

CC - 18 18 25 20
PU - 25 25 21 25