OBERLIN, Ohio (Sept. 15)- The Saint Vincent women's volleyball team went 1-1 on the opening day of the Oberlin College Invitational, sweeping Defiance in the opening match of the night and falling to Caltech by a 3-0 final in their second game of the day.
 
Game One- Saint Vincent 3, Defiance 0
The Bearcats secured a much-needed sweep in their opening game of the night against Defiance, winning the first set 25-20, the second set 26-24, and the third set 25-15.
 
Luciana Polk, Kaelyn Staples, and Lauren Fox led the way for SVC in the opening game, recording eight kills each. Polk also recorded two service aces and eight digs, while Fox tallied a game-high three blocks.
 
Madie Eagler led the game with 25 assists and Stacie Ramos recorded a team-high 18 digs for SVC. Eagler also recorded ten digs as well. Rachel Wiesen added a game-high three service aces for Saint Vincent in the win.
 
The teams traded the first several points back-and-forth as the set was tied 2-2, 5-5, and 10-10. SVC took the first advantage in the set, going on a 6-1 run on a service ace from Eagler, block by Fox, two aces from Polk, an attack error by Defiance, and a kill from Staples to take a 16-11 lead.
 
Saint Vincent continued on the attack with Defiance slightly cutting into their lead at 20-16 and then 22-20 still in favor of the Bearcats. SVC scored the final three points of the set on an error by the Yellow Jackets, followed by kills from Staples and Fox to give the Bearcats the opening set win (25-20), taking a 1-0 lead.
 
Set two was much of the same story as set one as the teams traded the first several points as the set was tied at 12-12 and then 16-16. Saint Vincent once again took the first advantage of the set as they went on a quick 4-0 run on two errors by Defiance, followed by an ace from Staples and kill by Alexis DiFuccia to give the Bearcats a 20-16 lead.
 
The Yellow Jackets answered back with a run of their own, going on an 8-4 run to tie the set up at 24-24. The Bearcats once again closed the set out, this time scoring the final two points on an attack error by Defiance followed by another kill from DiFuccia to win the set (26-24), taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
It was all Saint Vincent in the final set as the Bearcats never lost the lead. SVC scored the first three points on the set on kills by Polk and Fox, mixed between an attack error by the Yellow Jackets. The teams traded the next several points with SVC still holding a three-point lead at 17-14.
 
The Bearcats then went on an 8-1 run to close the set out, including scoring seven straight points. SVC clinched the match on a kill from Fox to win the set (25-15), securing the 3-0 sweep.
 
As a team SVC recorded 35 kills, compared to 33 from Defiance. They also tallied ten service aces, six blocks, 31 assists, and 59 digs in the win as well. SVC held the Yellow Jackets to just three service aces and one block.
 
For Defiance, Shelby Clements led the way with 11 kills, while also adding 17 digs to complete a double-double. Emma Chafins recorded a game-high 19 digs.
 
Game Two- Caltech 3, Saint Vincent 0
The Bearcats fell in their second match by a 3-0 defeat, losing the first set 25, 12, the second set 25-19, and the final set 25-19.
 
Staples and Polk once again led the way in the second match of the day, both recording six kills for SVC. Jessica Hughes, along with Fox and DiFuccia all had three kills in the loss as well. Eagler recorded two blocks and 18 assists for SVC as well.
 
Ramos once again led the way with 16 digs in the match.
 
It was all Caltech in the opening set. The Beavers opened up to a 6-1 lead, scoring the first four points of the set and never looked back. The Bearcats attempted to claw back into the match, cutting the lead to 13-9 after a kill from Polk but were unable to sustain it.
 
The Beavers closed the set out on a 12-3 run to win the set (25-12), taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
It was a similar story in the second set as well. Caltech opened up to an early 7-3 lead. This time, Saint Vincent climbed back into the set, going on a 7-3 run of their own to tie the set up at 10-10 after a kill from Fox.
 
The Beavers answered with an 8-1 run to regain a commanding 18-11 lead. The Bearcats had one final run in them in the set, going on a 6-0 run on three errors by Caltech, mixed between two service aces from Polk and a kill from Staples as the Beavers held a slight 18-17 lead.
 
Caltech went on to outscore the Bearcats 7-2 over the remaining points to win set two (25-19), taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Caltech controlled the majority of the third set as well. The Beavers opened up to an early 5-1 lead, but SVC bounced back. The Bearcats scored the next three points on a service error by the Beavers and back-to-back aces from Ramos to cut the lead to 5-4.
 
The teams traded the next several points back-and-forth as Caltech still led by one at 13-12. It was all Beavers from that point, as Caltech went on a 10-4 run to take a 23-16 lead. The Bearcats gave one final attempt to cut into the lead but fell short falling in the final set (25-19) and the match 3-0.
 
As a team, SVC compiled 25 kills, 47 digs, and 22 assists. The Bearcats also recorded seven service aces in the match as well.
 
Claire Perhach led the way for Caltech with 14 kills. Sophia Parker also had a solid game for the Beavers, recording nine kills in the win.
 
The Bearcats will play their final game of the Oberlin Invitational, tomorrow, Saturday, September 16, when they take on Wooster. The game is scheduled to begin at noon at Oberlin College.