|
| Sydney Fitzcharles |
|
| Brooke Swain |
NEW WILMINGTON, Ohio – The College of Wooster volleyball team opened play at Westminster College's tri-match with a 25-20, 25-19, 26-28 25-14 victory over Saint Vincent College before falling in Saturday's nightcap to the host Titans 25-21, 25-18, 25-17.
Wooster's (6-8) match-opening 7-0 run proved to be the difference in the first set against St. Vincent. First-year Hayley Nash jumped in on the action early with two kills and an ace, while senior Cami Miller added her name to the stat sheet with a pair of kills. St. Vincent pulled within 22-20, only to have sophomore Brooke Swain and senior Anna Medema log kills during the final three-point stretch.
The Bearcats were within 21-19 in the second set, but three straight miscues in the error column gave the Scots the needed cushion. Medema's kill followed that, and went down as the set-clinching point.
Wooster found itself down 21-17 in the third set against St. Vincent, but eventually pulled even at 24 all. Nash's three kills played in large part in that, while junior Meghan Botsch served up an ace to tie the set. The Scots twice had match point, only to have the Bearcats thwart those threats before taking the frame on a Wooster setting error.
Sophomore Katie Billetdeaux and Nash combined for nine of Wooster's 16 kills in the fourth set. Swain's two kills during a 9-2 stretch helped the Scots pull away.
Wooster was off to a promising start against Westminster, as the Scots opened up a 6-4 lead when Billetdeaux's ace capped a four-point swing. However, a late 6-1 run by the Titans swung the momentum, and eventually the set over to Westminster.
Nash led Wooster's efforts down the stretch against Westminster with 12 digs and five kills over the final two sets. She led Wooster with 28 kills on the day.
First-year Sydney Fitzcharles finished with 38 digs to lead five Scots in double-figures on the day. Billetdeaux backed Nash up with 22 kills over the two matches, with Medema (13), Swain (12), and Miller (11) rounding out the Scots' top-five for the tri-match.
Next, Wooster opens league play with a 7 p.m. tilt at Oberlin College (7-5) on Tuesday, September 24.