Meghan Botsch

Taylor Mathews

Senior Taylor Mathews earned a spot on the all-tournament team, and The College of Wooster volleyball team turned in a successful 3-1 weekend at the Northwest Pennsylvania Challenge. The Fighting Scots won both of their Friday matches, and rebounded with a four-set win over Alfred University to cap the challenge after dropping Saturday's first match.

In Friday's opener, Wooster (5-4) dispatched the State University of New York at Oswego 25-14, 19-25, 25-13, 25-13. The Scots' defense led the charge as Wooster held Oswego State to a -.043 attack percentage, including an ice cold -.281 mark in the fourth set. Junior Gabrielle Basinski led the defensive efforts with 17 digs, a total that received a balanced output of support in 15 from junior Jordan Murray and nine each by senior Ksenia Klue and junior McKenzie Reese. Offensively, Klue smashed down a match-high 10 kills, while three Scots logged five each.

Shifting to Friday's nightcap, Wooster's strong defensive theme carried over as the Scots swept aside Saint John Fisher College 25-16, 25-17, 25-23. Junior Marija Cyvas turned in an active match at the net with four blocks, and the Scots had five blocks overall. In the back row, Basinski and Murray combined for 23 digs, while three Scots had at least five kills, including a team-high nine by Klue.

Wooster's Saturday jumped out to a great start as the Scots cruised past Bethany College (W.Va.) 25-12 in the first set before the Bison charged back to take the next three sets 25-20, 25-23, 25-21. Both of Wooster's senior captains recorded double-doubles in the tilt with Klue leading the team with 12 kills to pair with 17 digs, while Mathews dished out 35 assists and filled the stat sheet with 15 digs. Basinski and Murray combined for 42 digs, and junior Mayia Karagianni took charge up front with six blocks.

In the weekend finale, Klue smashed down a career-high 20 kills to lead Wooster past Alfred University 25-22, 27-25, 21-25, 25-14. Notable, Klue's the first Scot to record 20 kills in a match since Erica Skillman recorded 21 versus Thiel College on Oct. 20, 2012. In addition to the kills, Klue filled the stat sheet with 15 digs, good for her sixth double-double of the year.

Speaking of double-doubles, Meghan Botsch continued to gain valuable experience as the primary setter versus Alfred, and the first-year came through with 46 assists and 10 digs. In fact, Botsch's 46 assists rank as the fifth-most in a four-set match during the current scoring era.

For the weekend, Klue averaged 3.40 kills per set to pair with 3.20 digs, while Basinski and Murray combined to average 8.13 digs per set.

Notable, Wooster is now 13-2 over the last two seasons in matches played in Pennsylvania.

Next, Wooster travels to John Carroll University (2-6) for a 7 p.m. match on Tuesday, Sept. 12.