OBERLIN, Ohio - The Saint Vincent women's volleyball team was defeated 3-1 by Oberlin in a non-conference match on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 9). 

The host Yeowomen (9-8) took a pair of tight sets to open the match, by scores of 25-22 and 25-23, before the Bearcats (6-10) earned a marathon, back-and-forth 26-24 win in the third set. Oberlin would then take the fourth set 25-14 to close out the 3-1 win.

Lindsey Kocjancic, Caitlyn Figuly, Vivian Poach and Luciana Polk each had five kills to share the Saint Vincent team lead. Figuly added a team-best four blocks, with Polk chipping in three, while three Bearcats reached double-figures in digs, including Madie Marsico (20), Carly Augustine (14) and Olivia Persin (13). Augustine and Persin shared the setting duties, with the former totaling 11 assists and the latter 10.

The Bearcats matched a season-high with nine service aces on the afternoon, led by four from Stacie Ramos and three from Polk. 

Saint Vincent quickly fell behind 10-2 to open the day's first set, but gradually chipped away at the deficit. A kill from Becca Miller cut the gap to 12-5, before four straight Oberlin attack errors made it 12-9. The teams would trade points over the next couple serves, before another Miller kill pulled the Bearcats to within two, 14-12. It remained a two-point game over the next several serves, before a kill by Augustine brought SVC to within one at 19-18. The Bearcats kept the momentum, with Polk serving back-to-back aces to close out a 5-0 run and give SVC its first lead, 21-19. The Yeowomen, however, countered with a surge of their own, scoring six of the final seven points of the set to close out a 25-22 win.

The two teams traded the lead to open the second set, before SVC scored five straight points, capped off with a Figuly kill, to go on top 9-5. The Bearcats would maintain the four-point lead over the next several moments, before the Yeowomen answered with four straight points to tie it at 12. The teams would again trade points before Oberlin scored three unanswered to take a 23-20 advantage. A trio of Oberlin errors brought SVC to within one, 24-23, but they were unable to complete the comeback, with Oberlin taking a 25-23 win to go up 2-0 in the match.

The third set mirrored the second, with the Bearcats and Yeowomen exchanging six ties and seven lead changes over the first 10 serves. A kill by Polk followed by two Oberlin errors gave SVC an 8-6 lead, but Oberlin erupted with a 7-1 run to jump in front 13-9. After a Saint Vincent timeout, the Bearcats pulled to within 13-12 after a Poach spike and a Ramos ace, but Oberlin answered with five straight points to take a 17-13 lead. Saint Vincent responded with a 6-1 run, tying the set at 19 on an Augustine kill. Following an Oberlin timeout, the hosts scored three straight to take a 22-19 lead, but SVC answered right back, using kills by Figuly and Kaelyn Staples to pull to within 23-22. Oberlin promptly scored to bring up match point, but the Bearcats again countered, tying it at 24 on another Ramos ace, before taking a 25-24 lead on a Kocjancic kill. Oberlin followed with an attack error to give SVC the 26-24 set win.

An early kill by Poach in the fourth set brought SVC to within 2-1, but from there, it was all Oberlin. The Yeowomen jumped out to leads of 5-1, 11-2 and 15-5, and the Bearcats were unable to recover, as Oberlin cruised to the 25-14 win to claim the match. Over the final set, the Bearcats committed seven attack errors while conversely, the Yeowomen hit at a .400 clip, posting 14 kills while committing just two errors.

Saint Vincent will now face a busy week, with three matches over a five-day span, beginning with a 7 p.m. bout on Tuesday, Oct. 12, at conference-leading Westminster College.