LATROBE, Pa. (Oct. 10) – The Saint Vincent women's volleyball team fell to Hiram College in straight sets (25-18, 25-15, 25-19) in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup on Saturday evening inside the Robert S. Carey Student Center.
With the loss, the Bearcats dropped to 4-10 overall and 2-3 in PAC play, while Hiram improved to 9-7 overall and 4-1 in conference action.
Meegan Williams led the Saint Vincent offensive attack with a match-high tying 11 kills, while adding nine digs, two assists and one service ace. Aubrey Siwula followed with nine kills, while Sabrina George added three kills and one service ace.
Preslee Horchak dished out a team-high 10 assists, while Madie Eagler followed with nine. Defensively, Brenna McCracken led the Bearcats with 12 digs, while Maria Goldstein added six. Maria Piraino also contributed two service aces, while Ashlynn Schutz recorded two block assists.
In the opening set, Saint Vincent jumped out to an early 9-5 advantage, highlighted by kills from Williams, George and Eagler. The Bearcats continued to hold the lead at 16-14 before Hiram responded with a 6-0 run to take a 20-16 advantage. Saint Vincent battled back to cut the deficit to two at 20-18, but the Terriers scored five of the final five points to take the opening set, 25-18.
Hiram carried that momentum into the second set, jumping out to an early 8-3 lead. The Terriers continued to build their advantage throughout the set, extending their lead to 18-8 before eventually taking the second set by a 25-15 score.
In the third set, Hiram opened with a 6-2 advantage before Saint Vincent battled back to even the score at 8-8 following a kill from Horchak. The Terriers responded with a 6-1 run to take a 14-9 lead and eventually extended their advantage to 22-13. The Bearcats continued to fight, scoring five of the final seven points to cut the deficit to 24-19, but Hiram recorded the final point to secure the 25-19 set victory and complete the sweep.
As a team, Saint Vincent totaled 28 kills, 26 assists, 41 digs and four service aces. Hiram finished with 48 kills, 44 assists, 58 digs and five service aces.
Maggie Riley and Megan Chiang paced the Terriers with 11 kills apiece, while Sofia Smotek added 10. Courtney Johnson dished out a match-high 21 assists, while Jacey English led the Hiram defense with 16 digs.
The Bearcats will return to action on Wednesday, October 14, when they travel to Steubenville, Ohio, for a PAC matchup against Franciscan University. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
