CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The University of Charleston got a taste of great competition in its opening weekend, yet were unable to put any games in the win column as Bentley gathered a 3-0 win over the Golden Eagles to conclude the Dowling Invitational Tournament.

Charleston came out early fighting for a victory as they registered 10 kills to just six errors in forcing the opening set to extra points, yet it wouldn't be enough as the Falcons snuck away with a 26-24 set win. The Golden Eagles were unable to duclicate the effort in the second set as they committed seven attack errors as BU took the set by a 25-18 score.

The Falcons continued to rely on their two offensive powers Kelsey Buckner and Ashley Ahearn in the final set as UC took the game down the wire, yet were unable to come out on top at the end as Bentley secured the victory with 25-22 third set. Buckner and Ahearn account for 55 percent of the attck for BU, while Malleri Hardison (Uniontown, PA/Laurel Highlands) paced Charleston with nine kills.

UC gets little reprieve in the level of competition as they now travel to face Northern Kentucky on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 7:00 pm.