Scots Snap Lions' 14-Match Winning Streak in Home Finale

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster volleyball team rallied back from a two-set deficit only to see visiting Hiram College win in five (25-18, 25-16, 20-25, 16-25, 15-8), then the Fighting Scots snapped Penn State Behrend's 14-match winning streak 25-18, 25-19, 25-20 in the program's "senior match" on Saturday at Timken Gymnasium.

Senior Katie Billetdeaux's kill upped Wooster's (15-8, 3-4 North Coast Athletic Conference) first-set lead to 17-13, and classmate Syd Case followed that with an ace as part of a 5-0 run. Timely aces were a central theme in Saturday's finale, with junior Hayley Nash tallying two on the stat sheet early in the frame, and the Scots had three others in the first set alone. First-year Lucy Kinser served up a pair in the final three points of the match.

Nash finished the weekend with 12 kills, which led all players. Case kept the offense rolling with an average of 11 assists per set, and the senior finished two digs shy of a double-double. Junior Sydney Fitzcharles topped the team in digs at 12, and Billetdeaux swatted aside four Lions' attack attempts.

Sarah Cole and Brooke Joncas had eight kills apiece for Penn State Behrend, which suffered its first setback since September 11.

Wooster hit .260 and Penn State Behrend hit .196.

Earlier, Wooster could have clinched at least a fourth-place finish within the conference and took control of the tiebreaker for the fourth seed for the upcoming NCAC Tournament with a win. Hiram's (13-12, 4-4 NCAC) Kiara Franks had the momentum-sucking play in the fifth set, as the Terriers' leading outside hitter tapped down a Wooster serve receive overpass that made it 9-7. That kill was the second point of Hiram's match-ending 8-1 run.

Nash surpassed 20 kills for the fifth time this season, and six of those came in the fourth set, where the Scots held the Terriers to a 43-percent mark when it came to successful sideout tries. A balanced third-set effort led to 16 team kills for Wooster, with Billetdeaux's four leading the way. The Scots also had 21 digs in set three, with eight coming from Fitzcharles.

Nash's 21 kills led all players in the Wooster-Hiram match. Billetdeaux backed that up with 13. Case logged the assist on 50 of Wooster's 60 kills, Fitzcharles ran away with high honors in digs at 23, and Nash contributed 14 digs.

Franks logged 17 kills for Hiram, and Kayla Cole stuffed the stat sheets with 13 kills, 11 digs, and three aces.

Hiram hit .245 to Wooster's .148.

Of note, Nash moved up to fifth-place on Wooster's single-season kills list for the current scoring era at 338, while Case is now fourth in assists at 906. Billetdeaux's currently in second for attack percentage at .350.

Prior to Saturday's home finale, the Scots recognized their four seniors – Billetdeaux, Case, Brooke Swain, and Seven Townsel.

Next, Wooster wraps up conference play at Allegheny College (14-8, 2-5 NCAC) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 27.