Ashley Plassard

The College of Wooster tuned-up for North Coast Athletic Conference play against a strong field at the Carnegie Mellon University DoubleTree Invitational over the weekend. While Wooster went 1-3 on the weekend, the Scots do have some positives to take away from the invitational, most notably a consistent blocking presence all weekend long as the Black and Gold averaged nearly 2.5 blocks per set.

Wooster (11-7) and Mount Union, which met three weekends ago, squared off again to kick-start the weekend. This time, the Purple Raiders, among those receiving votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25, swept the Fighting Scots 25-20, 25-19, 25-12. At the net, Wooster totaled 11 blocks in the match, one shy of matching the team's season-high. Individually, junior Ashley Plassard led the way with eight swats, a total backed up by four each from senior Ksenia Klue and sophomore Erica Roberts. Switching to the attack, Klue posted a team-high seven kills with sophomore Anna Medema following behind with five.

In the nightcap, Wooster rallied to tie the match at one set each after 25-15 second frame, but the match spun back around in favor of Messiah College, which went on to win 25-20, 15-25, 25-20, 25-18. The Scots' strong presence at the net carried over as Wooster was credited with 10 blocks in the match. Once again, Plassard was at the forefront of the net surgence with seven blocks, while Roberts added four. Offensively, Klue filled the stat sheet with a team-high 14 kills, and she was one of three Scots with at least six kills in the match. Defensively, junior Gabrielle Basinski tallied a match-high 23 digs, and senior Taylor Mathews joined the Scots' libero in the double-digit column in digs, as part of her double-double effort that featured 30 assists.

Saturday's opener featured a strong start for the Scots as Wooster swept aside Geneva College 25-13, 25-23, 26-24. Klue led a red-hot Wooster offense, which hit .217 overall, with 17 kills and 10 digs. In fact, not much got past Wooster's defense in the sweep as four Scots logged double-digit digs, including a team-best 16 from first-year Megan Botsch. Both of Wooster's seniors logged double-doubles in the match as Mathews complemented Klue's big match with 30 assists and 12 digs. At the net, Plassard's superb weekend continued with six more blocks.

In the weekend finale, Wooster took set one from Otterbein University 25-17 before the Cardinals swung the match in the other direction to take the final three sets 25-18, 25-9, 25-17. Sophomore Kyana Harris turned in a strong match up front with eight kills, a total matched by Plassard. Defensively, junior Jordan Murray tallied up 17 digs while Klue was also in double-digits at 11.

On the weekend, Plassard led the way with 22 blocks with junior Marija Cyvas chipping in with 11. Offensively, Klue averaged over three kills per set while Murray was north of three digs per frame.

Next, Wooster opens up league play with a 1 p.m. match at DePauw University (8-5, 1-0 NCAC) on Saturday, Sept. 30.