LATROBE, Pa. (Oct. 7) – The Saint Vincent women's volleyball team fell 3-1 to Washington & Jefferson College in a Presidents' Athletic Conference matchup on Wednesday evening at the Robert S. Carey Student Center.
The Bearcats (4-9, 2-2 PAC) fell by set scores of 22-25, 12-25, 28-26 and 19-25 to the Presidents (5-12, 2-2 PAC).
Meegan Williams led the Saint Vincent attack with a team-high 18 kills while hitting .231, committing just six errors on 52 attempts. Williams also totaled 14 digs, one service ace and one solo block.
Aubrey Siwula followed with 10 kills, while Madie Eagler added three kills and Elliot Hardy finished with two.
Eagler paced the Bearcats with 18 assists, while Preslee Horchak added seven and Brenna McCracken totaled five.
Defensively, McCracken led Saint Vincent with 16 digs, while Williams added 14 and Maria Goldstein finished with nine. Ashlynn Schutz led the Bearcats at the net with three total blocks, including two solo blocks, while Hardy added two.
As a team, Saint Vincent totaled 35 kills, 32 assists, four service aces, six total blocks and 49 digs. The Bearcats finished with a .107 hitting percentage, while Washington & Jefferson recorded 59 kills and a .204 hitting percentage.
The Presidents were led offensively by Rian Benz, who recorded a match-high 20 kills, while Cali Dagen added 19 kills and 22 digs. Lola Jacobs also reached double figures with 12 kills.
The opening set saw Saint Vincent jump out to an early 5-0 lead, highlighted by kills from Williams and Eagler. Washington & Jefferson responded with eight consecutive points to take an 8-5 advantage. The Bearcats continued to battle throughout the set, eventually tying the score at 21-21 following a Williams kill. However, the Presidents scored four of the final five points to secure the 25-22 victory.
Washington & Jefferson carried that momentum into the second set, using a strong offensive performance to take control. The Presidents recorded 16 kills while hitting .359 in the set, limiting Saint Vincent to just three kills. W&J went on to take the set, 25-12, extending its match lead to 2-0.
The Bearcats responded in the third set, battling through a tightly contested frame to keep the match alive. Saint Vincent recorded 11 kills in the set, while taking advantage of 12 W&J attacking errors. The two teams battled into extra points before the Bearcats ultimately came away with a 28-26 victory, cutting the Presidents' lead to 2-1.
In the fourth set, Washington & Jefferson regained control offensively, recording 14 kills while hitting .250. Saint Vincent continued to battle, but the Presidents closed out the set, 25-19, to secure the 3-1 victory.
Saint Vincent returns to action on Saturday, October 10 with a home PAC matchup against Hiram. The match is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. in the Robert S. Carey Center on Saturday evening.
