Bel Air, Md. - The Fighting Owls picked up their first conference win of the 2018 season, defeated CCBC Essex 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-18, 27-25) on Friday night.

Harford (4-3, 1-1 Md Juco) would take the first set from Essex (2-4, 0-1 Md Juco) comfortably, but the Knights battled back to take set two. A dominate third set, however gave the ladies in blue a 2-1 lead and the momentum.

The fourth set would provide most of the drama for the night. The two conference foes battled back and forth throughout, with Harford needing extra points to claim victory on the night.

Quick Hits
• The Fighting Owls' offense was rocking on Friday night. Maria Lopez (13 kills), Madison Scarpulla (9) and Kayla Reiswig (8 aces) had stellar nights for Harford. Freshman Faith Hill was all over the court as well, finishing the game with 21 assists and two aces of her own.
• Harford's defense also played a major part during the win, as sophomore standout Leah Sanders (24 digs) and Allison Hallameyer (14) kept the game locked down on the back end.

Game Summaries:
Set 1: 
• Down 7-6 early in the set, Harford's Maria Lopez and Madison Scarpulla would help the Fighting Owls to seven straight points and the lead. Harford stayed ahead for the remainder of the set to go up 1-0.

Set 2: 
• Essex's Annette Thrappas put the Knights on her back, earning 10 straight points in the middle of the set off her serves for an 18-8 lead. Harford would go on a few runs of their own to make it close, but a service error ended the comeback at 22-25.

Set 3
• Kayla Reiswig would match Thrappas' performance in set 3. A kill from Rebecca Moen ignited a 10-0 run while Reiswig served to give the Fighting Owls a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set.

Set 4
• Harford seemed to be cruising through the fourth set, forcing Essex to call a timeout down 18-13. The Knights rallied out of the break and made Harford call time while ahead 20-18. This time it was Harford that responded to the break, earning four out of the next six points for a 24-20 lead.
• With their backs against the wall Essex would fight back and score the next five points to snatch away the lead from Harford. The Fighting Owls responded by playing some of their best volleyball all season long, winning the next three points to win the set (27-25) and match (3-1).

Up Next
• Harford will welcome Montgomery and Northern Virginia to Bel Air for a tri-match on September 10 beginning at 3 p.m.