PITTSBURGH -- The Presidents took Carnegie Mellon to 27-25 in the first set, but eventually fell, 3-0, to the No. 24-ranked Tartans at historic Skibo Gymnasium.
 
After the 27-25 opening set loss, the Washington & Jefferson volleyball squad dropped 25-12 and 25-21 decisions in the final two sets. The loss drops W&J to 1-4 on the season, with its last three losses coming at the hands of NCAA Tournament qualifiers from a year ago.
 
Abbey Eich (Greencastle, Pa./St. Maria Goretti (Md.)) led the offense with seven kills, while Madison Lydic (Erie, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) posted six and Julia Galbraith (Pittsburgh, Pa./Vincentian Academy) totaled five. Mallory O'Brien (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) dished out 18 assists in the loss.
 
Defensively, Lydic moved into a tie for fifth place on the rally-scoring era with two blocks on the night, giving her 295 for her career. Morgan Jacques (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy) led all players with four blocks and Eich added three. O'Brien led a quartet of Presidents in double digits with 16 digs, followed closely by Katie Conner (Pittsburgh, Pa./Vincentian Academy) with 15. Makenzie Coughlin (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) posted 12 digs and Galbraith secured 11 of her own.
 
W&J will open up Presidents' Athletic Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 8 when it travels to Waynesburg, Pa. for a league tri-match with Bethany (1 pm) and the host Yellow Jackets (3 pm).