LATROBE, PA – The Saint Vincent women's volleyball team suffered its first defeat of the 2021 season, falling 3-0 to Hiram College on the final day of the 2021 Bearcat Challenge in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.
Set scores were 25-16, 25-19 and 25-17.
The Bearcat offense was paced by
Luciana Polk, who tallied six kills, while
Caitlyn Figuly and
Kaelyn Staples added 5 putaways apiece. Polk also added two aces, while three Bearcats reached double figures in digs, including
Madie Marsico (16), Polk (12) and
Olivia Persin (12). Figuly,
Stacie Ramos and
Miranda Guthrie all totaled two blocks.
In the afternoon's first set, Hiram scored the first four points to take control early. The Terriers' lead would eventually stretch to 15-7, before SVC cut it to six following a
Becca Miller kill and a Hiram attack error. Moments later, a
Kaelyn Staples kill and a Polk ace pulled the Bearcats to within five at 18-13, but the Terriers ended the set on a 7-3 run to close out the 25-16 win.
Set two was tight early on, with the teams trading four ties and three lead changes, before Hiram posted three straight points to open up a 7-4 lead. The Hiram lead would hover between three and four points over the next several serves, before Figuly smashed kills on back-to-back rallies to bring SVC to within one, 14-13. The Bearcats kept the momentum, with two kills from Ramos sandwiched around an ace from Polk giving them an 18-17 lead, but Hiram would storm back to end the frame on an 8-2 run for a 25-19 set win.
The third set followed a similar script as the second, with neither team holding more than a two-point advantage early on. Trailing 7-5, the Bearcats racked up five straight points, with using kills from Ramos and Polk, a Hiram attack error, a Ramos/Guthrie combined block and a Marsico ace to take a 10-7 advantage. The lead would eventually stretch to 12-8, but it was then the Terriers' turn to answer with a run of their own, tallying 10 of the next 13 points to pull ahead 17-13. A Polk kill temporarily halted Hiram's momentum, but the Terriers bounced right back to pull ahead 21-15. This final surge was too much for SVC to overcome, as Hiram pulled away down the stretch to close out the set by a 25-17 score.
Hiram was led statistically by Kiara Franks, who led both sides with a 17-kill, 20-dig double-double. Teammate Kayla Cole added 11 kills and 16 digs, while Mary Landis dished 35 assists and picked up 12 digs.
Saint Vincent will return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 8, hosting Penn State-Altoona in the Robert S. Carey Student Center at 7 p.m.
