Zoe Zwegat

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster volleyball team continued their red-hot start to the season Friday evening, this time sweeping Muskingum University 25-20, 25-19, and 25-13 in their home opener at Timken Gymnasium.

With the win, the Scots improve to 9-1, which is their best start to a season during the modern era (Wooster began keeping the stat in 1982).

The Scots started the match strong by building a 15-5 cushion in the opening set, but the Muskies responded with their own 13-6 run to pull within three points (21-18). Following a couple Muskingum miscues that put Wooster ahead 24-20, Zoe Zwegat delivered a massive solo block that sealed the outcome.

The second set was a much more back-and-forth battle that saw the Muskies draw close (13-11, 14-12) on two occasions, but Lizzi Beal and Kelley Johnson made some spectacular plays on hard-to-reach balls that kept Muskingum at bay. Wooster eventually pulled away down the stretch, thanks in large part to smart hitting (13 kills, 2 errors), to take a 2-0 series lead.

In the final set, Wooster raced to an early 9-1 advantage and never looked back. There were several stretches where nearly every ball that the Scots set led to a kill, and they went on to post a .400 hitting percentage in the stanza.

Overall, Morgan led the attack with nine kills, while Erica Skillman added six. On defense, Zwegat recorded three solo blocks and two block assists, and Johnson recorded a match-high 24 digs.

The Scots will look to continue their winning ways when they visit northeast Ohio foe Case Western Reserve University next Tuesday at 7 p.m.