GREENSBURG, Pa. (Sept. 12) – The Saint Vincent College women's volleyball team earned a 3-1 road victory in a non-conference match at Pitt-Greensburg.
The Bearcats (4-4) won by set scores of 25-15, 21-25, 25-20 and 25-16.
Four different Saint Vincent players recorded at least seven kills, paced by
Kaelyn Staples-Klasnic, who had 16 kills.
Lauren Fox also had a big game, putting down 11 kills while committing just one attack error and hitting at a .500 clip, while
Meegan Williams recorded 10 kills and
Dakota Hershberger seven.
As a team, the Bearcat offense hit at a healthy .213 clip, totaling 51 kills against just 17 errors.
The Bearcat offense also totaled nine service aces, paced by
Maya Martell's four and Hershberger's three.
Madie Eagler and
Sani Jones split time at setter, with Eagler dishing 22 assists and Jones 11.
Defensively, four SVC players tallied at least nine digs, led by Williams' 15.
Stacie Ramos picked up 12 digs, Martell 11 and Staples-Klasnic nine.
Fox registered a match-high three blocks.
The opening set saw the teams trade points early on, with UPG taking an early 11-9 lead, before the Bearcats erupted. A kill from Hersberger pulled SVC to within 11-10, before the Bobcats committed a series of attack errors to give the Bearcats a 14-11 lead. After a UPG point, the Bearcats kept the momentum, rattling off a 6-0 run, with two kills from Fox, a kill and an ace from Martell and a kill from Staples-Klasnic, to open up a 20-12 lead. The Bearcats would then close the match on a 5-1 run to close out the 25-15 set victory.
The early stages of the second set were also evenly played, as the teams traded five ties and five lead changes before UPG put together a quick 3-0 run to open up an 11-9 advantage. SVC regained the lead, 14-13, after a pair of Williams kills, before the margin swelled to 17-14 following a trio of UPG errors. The hosts countered with four straight points to gain an 18-17 lead, and would stay hot down the stretch, outscoring SVC 7-4 down the stretch for the 25-21 win.
UPG stayed hot to open up the third set, taking leads of 4-0, 8-2, 9-4 and 12-6. The Bearcats then awoke in a big way, gaining the lead by rattling off seven straight points, with the run including a kill and an ace from Staples-Klasnic, to pull in front, 13-12. The teams then went back-and-forth over the next several rallies, before a 6-0 SVC surge gave the Bearcats some breathing room, upping the lead to 20-16. The long run included three kills from Hershberger and both a kill and an ace by Williams. UPG battled back to close the gap to 20-18, but the Bearcats pulled away down the stretch, with a Martell ace and kills from Hershberger and Fox sealing the 25-20 set win.
Trailing 7-5 to start the fourth set, the Bearcats received kills from Staples-Klasnic, Hershberger and Fox to gain a 9-7 lead. The Bobcats thrice cut the gap to one point, at 11-10, 14-13 and 15-14, but SVC responded in a big way. Staples-Klasnic put down kills on back-to-back swings to open up a 17-14 lead, before a Martell ace, another kill from Staples-Klasnic and a block from Fox extended the advantage to 22-14. The visitors then closed out the victory with a pair of kills from Fox and one from Williams to seal the 25-15 set win, and the four-set match win.
The Bearcats will now have a six-day layoff before returning home on Wednesday, Sept. 18, for a 7 p.m. non-conference bout with La Roche in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.
