This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Sean Hurd.

After losing their season opener to Maryland last night, the women’s volleyball team bounced back Saturday morning, beating UMBC in three straight sets (25-20, 25-19, 26, 24).

The Colonials looked strong right from the start due to the efforts of sophomore setter Jordan Timmer and junior outside hitter Kelsey Newman. Newman recorded five kills on 10 total attempts, and eight digs, while Timmer, who had 26 assists in last night’s game, tallied 10 assists in the first set alone. Sophomore Maggie Skjelbred aided the duo with three kills of her own in the match’s opening set.

The match was played on the second and final day of GW’s host tournament, the GW Invitational. UMBC (0-2), which also dropped their first game of the invitational against Ole Miss, was in pursuit of their own first win of the season.

The second frame started with a bit of a different tone, as UMBC showed they were not going to hand the match over to the Colonials. Early on, UMBC was able to jump out to a five point lead, 8-13, forcing GW head coach Amanda Ault to stop the UMBC momentum with a timeout.

But Ault didn’t only manage to stop a streaking UMBC team, she was able to shift the momentum to her own bench.

Out of the huddle, GW bounced back thanks to another 10 assist effort by Timmer, and four kills from both freshman middle blocker Chidima Osuchukwu and Newman. The Colonials rallied to take the set by a six-point spread.

The third set saw another flurry of strong performances from Colonials players. Timmer had her strongest set of the match posting 13 assists, while Newman logged another seven kill set of her own. After a back-and-forth set where neither team led by more than two points, the Colonials were able to prevail on a set and kill combination from the team’s best players of the match, Timmer and Newman. Timmer ended the match with 33 assists, while Newman tallied 16 kills, a .394 attack percentage, 12 digs, and two service aces.

The game was sponsored by the gay rights project “You Can Play,” with the goal of celebrating LGBT athletes across college athletics. One dollar of every ticket sold was donated to the Human Rights Campaign to support LGBT equality.

The Colonials finish off Invitational play tonight at 7 p.m. against Ole Miss.