LATROBE, Pa. (Sept. 5) – The Saint Vincent women's volleyball team dropped their final two matches in the Bearcat Challenge Tournament on Saturday, falling to Penn State Behrend and The College of Wooster
SVC (1-3) fell to Behrend by a 3-0 score and to Wooster 3-1.
MATCH 1- Penn State-Behrend 3, Saint Vincent 0
The Saint Vincent women's volleyball team dropped a three-set match to Penn State Behrend on Saturday afternoon, falling 3-0 (18-25, 14-25, 14-25) on the second day of the Bearcat Challenge at the Robert S. Carey Center.
With the loss, the Bearcats fall to 1-2 on the season, while Penn State Behrend improves to 2-1.
Saint Vincent started strong in the opening set, jumping out to an 8-6 lead behind back-to-back kills from Meegan Williams. The Lions responded with an 11-1 run to take a 17-9 advantage. The Bearcats attempted to battle back late, scoring five of six points with Williams recording two kills during the run, but Behrend held on for the 25-18 opening-set victory.
The Lions carried the momentum into the second set, jumping out to an early 6-2 lead. Saint Vincent was unable to cut into the deficit, as Behrend extended its advantage to 16-5 before eventually taking the set, 25-14.
Saint Vincent came out strong in the third, scoring three straight points to open the set behind a block from Aubrey Siwula and Sabrina George and back-to-back service aces from Maria Goldstein. The Bearcats later extended their lead to 9-5 on a Williams kill, but Behrend responded with a 10-1 run to take a 15-10 advantage.
The Lions remained in control from there, closing out the match with a 25-14 victory in the third set.
Williams led the Saint Vincent attack with nine kills on a .250 hitting percentage, while also adding six digs. Siwula totaled three kills and a team-high nine digs, while Ashlynn Schutz added two kills.
Goldstein recorded four of Saint Vincent's five service aces, while George finished with one ace and a team-high three blocks. Madie Eagler led the Bearcats with nine assists.
As a team, Saint Vincent finished with 15 kills, 15 assists, five service aces, three blocks and 28 digs. Penn State Behrend totaled 33 kills and hit .200 for the match, while also recording 12 aces, seven blocks and 46 digs.
Cadence Jones led the Lions with a match-high 11 kills, while Kylie Fehlman added seven kills and three blocks. Brynne Smith dished out a match-high 25 assists, while Aubrey Sammons totaled 19 digs.
MATCH 2- Wooster 3, Saint Vincent 1
The Saint Vincent women's volleyball team closed out the Bearcat Challenge with a 3-1 loss to the College of Wooster on Saturday evening at the Robert S. Carey Center.
The Bearcats won the opening set, 25-22, before the Fighting Scots responded to win the next three sets by scores of 25-14, 25-14 and 28-26. With the loss, Saint Vincent falls to 1-3 on the season, while Wooster improves to 3-1.
Saint Vincent opened the match strong, jumping out to an early 5-2 lead in the first set. The two teams battled back-and-forth from there before the Bearcats began to pull away late. With Saint Vincent holding a 22-18 advantage, Wooster scored two straight to cut the lead to 22-20. Sabrina George answered with a kill to push the Bearcats' lead back to three, before Saint Vincent eventually closed out the set on a Meegan Williams kill to take the 25-22 victory.
Wooster responded in the second set. After Saint Vincent took an early 2-1 lead, the Fighting Scots scored four straight to go in front, 5-2. The Bearcats cut the deficit to 7-5, but Wooster answered with a 7-2 run to extend its advantage to 14-7. The Fighting Scots remained in control from there to win the second set, 25-14, evening the match at one set apiece.
The Fighting Scots carried the momentum into the third set, jumping out to an early 5-2 advantage. Saint Vincent battled back to tie the set at 8-8, but Wooster responded with a run to regain control. The Fighting Scots pulled away over the remainder of the set, taking a 2-1 match lead with another 25-14 victory.
Saint Vincent came out strong in the fourth, building a 10-5 advantage behind kills from Williams, Hannah Stone and Ashlynn Schutz. The Bearcats continued to hold the lead throughout the middle stages of the set, before Wooster battled back.
The two teams traded points down the stretch in a tightly contested finish. Saint Vincent fought off match point and continued to battle past the 25-point mark, but the Fighting Scots eventually scored the final two points to take the set, 28-26, and close out the 3-1 victory.
Williams led the Bearcats with a double-double, totaling a team-high 15 kills to go along with 20 digs and two blocks. Aubrey Siwula also recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 19 digs.
George finished with six kills, four service aces and two blocks, while Stone added six kills. Schutz chipped in three kills and one block. Madie Eagler led the Saint Vincent offense with 18 assists, while Preslee Horchak added seven assists. Eagler also recorded two service aces and one block.
Defensively, Brenna McCracken totaled 18 digs, while Maria Goldstein added 14. As a team, Saint Vincent finished with 41 kills, 39 assists, seven service aces, six blocks and 87 digs. Wooster totaled 47 kills, 44 assists, nine aces, nine blocks and 102 digs.
Jordan Laraway led Wooster with a match-high 17 kills and added 20 digs, while Caitlin Walsh-Knouff totaled 11 kills. Kennedy Muhlenkamp dished out a match-high 37 assists, while Catherine Muzilla led the Fighting Scots with 21 digs.
