STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (Oct. 14) – The Saint Vincent women's volleyball team fell to Franciscan University in straight sets (25-21, 25-19, 28-26) in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup on Wednesday evening inside Finnegan Fieldhouse.
With the loss, the Bearcats dropped to 4-11 overall and 2-4 in PAC play, while Franciscan improved to 13-5 overall and remained unbeaten in conference action at 6-0.
Meegan Williams led the Saint Vincent offensive attack with a match-high 22 kills, hitting an impressive .362, while adding eight digs and one assist. Aubrey Siwula followed with 10 kills, while Sabrina George added five kills, two digs and one service ace.
Madie Eagler dished out a team-high 19 assists, while Preslee Horchak followed with 14 assists and six digs. Defensively, Brenna McCracken led the Bearcats with 12 digs, while Jolina Estremera and Williams each recorded eight. Maria Goldstein also contributed five digs and one service ace, while Ashlynn Schutz recorded one solo block.
In the opening set, Franciscan jumped out to an early 9-5 advantage before Saint Vincent battled back to even the score at 10-10. The Barons responded with a 6-0 run to take a 16-10 lead, but the Bearcats continued to fight, cutting the deficit to two at 20-18 and again at 22-20. Franciscan scored three of the final four points to take the opening set, 25-21.
Saint Vincent came out strong in the second set, jumping out to an early 8-3 lead, highlighted by several kills from Williams. Franciscan battled back to even the score at 10-10 before the two teams continued to trade points. The Barons eventually pulled away to take the second set by a 25-19 score.
In the third set, the Bearcats continued to battle, pushing Franciscan to extra points before ultimately falling 28-26, as the Barons completed the three-set sweep.
As a team, Saint Vincent totaled 41 kills, 37 assists, 54 digs and two service aces, hitting .198 for the match. Franciscan finished with 36 kills, 33 assists, 55 digs and five service aces, hitting .209.
Anna Guard and Logan Hickey paced the Franciscan offensive attack with 13 kills apiece, while Guard added 10 digs and Hickey recorded two service aces. Reese Anderson dished out a team-high 14 assists, while Meg Smart followed with 12. Kaitlan Hickey led the Barons defensively with 16 digs.
The Bearcats will look to bounce back in their next PAC matchup as they continue conference play next Wednesday, October 21 with a home PAC matchup against Chatham. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the Robert S. Carey Center.
