Wooster Tripped Up at Capital

BEXLEY, Ohio – The College of Wooster volleyball team dropped a tightly-contested non-conference tilt at Capital University 25-22, 25-21, 21-25, 25-22 on Tuesday evening at Capital Center Arena.

Wooster's (10-4) uptick in blocking efficiency was a difference for the Fighting Scots in the set won by the Black & Gold. First-year Amelia Mitchell and senior Brooke Swain doubled-up Capital's (2-5) Lindsay Rich at the net at 15-12. Capital looked to go right back to Rich, and the Crusaders didn't have any better luck on the next point, as Mitchell and Swain were right there again for the denial. Later in the set, senior Katie Billetdeaux and Mitchell padded the lead to 22-19 with a block on Capital's Delanie Nahikian.

Wooster found itself down 11-5 in the third set, before righting the ship with a 11-1 swing, during which Mitchell and Swain had their consecutive blocks. Other key scoring contributions came from Billetdeaux, who started the stretch with a kill, and she had an ace not long after.

Junior Hayley Nash's 18 kills led all players, and six of those came during the set won by Wooster. She added 13 digs on the night. Billetdeaux followed with 12 kills, and the senior started strong with six kills on nine swings in the first set alone.

Up front, Mitchell and Swain had five blocks apiece, and Wooster hit double digits in that department for the first time this year.

Senior Syd Case passed out 41 assists to pair with seven digs, junior Sydney Fitzcharles kept 18 Capital attack attempts alive, and the Scots' libero had the team-high in aces at three.

Sydney LaPointe and Nahikian combined for 23 kills for Capital, Erin O'Connell had 21 digs, and Caleigh Hambry was a matchup problem at the net with six blocks.

Next, Wooster opens North Coast Athletic Conference play against Ohio Wesleyan University (6-8) on Friday, September 24. First serve from Branch Rickey Arena is slated for 7 p.m.