PITTSBURGH -- Nazareth dropped its weekend volleyball opener Friday as the Golden Flyers were competing at the Carnegie Mellon Quad. The Golden Flyers were swept by Westminster of Pennsylvania by scores of 25-18, 25-18, 25-15.

With two more matches Saturday, Nazareth now stands at 1-6 overall, while Westminster improved to 7-1.

Westminster posted an efficient .281 hitting percentage (40-13-96), while Nazareth had 28 kills and 20 hitting errors.

Sophomore Leah Fusilli had four of her team-best nine kills for the Golden Flyers in the opening set. Nazareth led 13-12 midway through, but Westminster scored the next three points and never trailed again and gradually pulled away to win.

Zipporah Sparkman had three kills in the second set, including one that gave the Golden Flyers a brief lead at 11-10. Westminster scored the next three points to take the lead for good, although Nazareth was still within 18-17 following a kill by Ruth Jackson late in the set.

In the third set, Westminster bolted to an 8-3 advantage and Nazareth couldn't recover despite three kills from Tessa Grover.

Fusilli finished with eight digs in addition to her nine kills. Grover and sophomore Rylie Loomis each had five kills and Ella Kules amassed 15 assists. Zoe Tylipakis, the junior libero, had 12 digs.

Nazareth plays host Carnegie Mellon Saturday and 11 a.m. and Mount Union at 4 p.m.