MOUNT BERRY, Ga. – In the opening round of the NCAA Division III Championship, the No. 22-ranked University of Chicago volleyball team fell to Birmingham-Southern College 3-1 on Thursday.

The Maroons finish their season with a 20-13 record. The Panthers advanced to the second round with a 25-5 mark. This was UChicago's sixth-straight appearance in the NCAA postseason.

Birmingham-Southern 3, UChicago 1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-18, 26-24)

The eight-team regional was hosted by Berry College. The opening match of the regional pitted the fifth seed UChicago versus the fourth seed Birmingham-Southern. It marked the first-ever contest between the two teams.

The Maroons went ahead 7-3 in the first set, with two kills apiece provided by senior outside hitters Jasmine Mobley and Maren Loe. With UChicago ahead 11-9, BSC sprung forward with four-straight points to go up 13-11. The Maroons later found themselves down 21-16, but two aces and a service error got them back to within one at 23-22. However, the Panthers recovered and scored two kills to take the set, 25-22. BSC recorded four of its nine team blocks in the opening set and hit .306 to start the match.

Three-straight kills by Loe got UChicago rolling on an 8-2 run near the beginning in the second set. BSC rebounded to take a 15-10 lead midway through. The Maroons then made their move, scoring nine of the next 11 points. UChicago went on to score four points in-a-row late and grabbed the second set, 25-23.

Attack errors haunted the Maroons in the third set, as they committed 10 miscues compared to 11 kills in the set. A 17-15 lead was erased by a nine-point streak by the Panthers, which included six attack errors by UChicago. BSC went ahead 2-1 in sets after winning the third, 25-18.

The fourth set saw huge momentum swings. UChicago erased a 12-6 deficit by scoring 11 points in-a-row. The Maroons looked poised to force a fifth set after taking leads of 20-13 and 24-21. But the Panthers rallied back each time and ending the match with five-straight points, including three aces, to win 26-24.

UChicago hit .157 in the match (54 kills, 26 errors, 178 attempts). The Maroons added six blocks, six aces and 93 digs. On the other side of the net, BSC posted a .191 hitting percentage (52-18-178) with nine blocks, 10 aces and 87 digs.

The Maroon senior trio of Loe, Mobley and senior setter Ragine Graves ended their collegiate careers with their fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament. Loe led the team in kills and digs with 16 and 20, respectively. Graves posted 15 assists and 20 digs while splitting setting duties with junior Erin Risk, who compiled 16 assists. Mobley scored 12 kills with two blocks. Junior libero Mary Claire Tuohy racked up 19 digs defensively.

UChicago Stat Leaders
Maren Loe (Sr.) – 16 kills, 20 digs
Jasmine Mobley (Sr.) – 12 kills, 3 digs, 2 blocks
Ragine Graves (Sr.) – 15 assists, 20 digs
Erin Risk (Jr.) – 16 assists
Mary Claire Tuohy (Jr.) – 19 digs, 4 assists