Waltham, Mass. - The Trinity College volleyball team opened the 2014 season with a 3-1 victory against Coast Guard in the Brandeis Invitational on Friday evening at Red Auerbach Arena. The Bantams notched their first win 25-19, 12-25, 25-22, 25-22, while the Bears dropped their first game of the year to fall to 4-1.

The Bantams took the first set and closed out Coast Guard with strong play in both the third and fourth games. First-year outside hitter Claudia Varner (Port Washington, N.Y.) led the offensive attack for Trinity with 11 kills, while juniors Hunter Drews (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and Kate Giddens (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) each had nine. Sophomore Randi Whitham (South Weymouth, Mass.) had a team-best 23 assists and junior Gina Buzzeli (Cheshire, Conn.) added 17. From the service line, Varner led the way with three aces, while Drews and Giddens each had two of their own. Defensively, junior Katie Stueber (Darien, Conn.) had team-leading 24 digs and Giddens had 12. 

Trinity concludes the 2014 Brandeis Invitational with a pair of contests on Sept. 6. The Bantams will take on Emerson at noon before closing out the weekend with a tilt versus Emmanuel at 2 p.m.