GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Behind another stellar defensive performance by Makenzie Coughlin (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick), the Washington & Jefferson College volleyball team earned a split of a Presidents' Athletic Conference tri-match Saturday afternoon at Thiel College. 
 
After dropping a 3-0 decision to the host Tomcats to open the day, the Presidents responded with a five-set win over Saint Vincent. Thiel added a 3-1 win over Saint Vincent in the finale of the tri-match.

W&J 3, Saint Vincent 2 (24-26, 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 15-11)
 
The Presidents defeated the Bearcats for the fifth straight time and for the 11th time in the past 12 meetings. 
 
W&J dropped the first set by a slim 26-24 margin as Saint Vincent tallied the final two points.  The Presidents would overcome a 21-19 deficit in the second set, as the Red and Black closed with a 6-3 run to win by a 25-22 margin. 
 
The Presidents pulled ahead with a 2-1 set advantage after claiming the third set by a 25-22 score. W&J overcame several deficits in the third, using a 12-6 to close the set. The run included three kills by senior Morgan Jacques (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Science & Technology Academy). 
 
The Bearcats would bounce back to pull even with a 25-22 victory in the fourth to set up the decisive fifth set. 
 
In the fifth set, the two teams traded points in the early stages. The Presidents built a 9-6 edge only to see the Bearcats respond with three straight points to tie the score. With the score tied at 11-11, the Presidents came through with four straight points to secure the match victory. The run included a pair of kills by junior Haley Nelson (Warren, Pa./Warren) and the match-clinching kill from freshman Kyleigh Jester (Ligonier, Pa./Ligonier Valley). 
 
Coughlin finished with a staggering 55 digs for the second time this week, matching her school record. Those two performances give Coughlin the top two single-game digs totals this season in NCAA volleyball. 
 
Jacques led the way offensively by matching a career high with 15 kills. Nelson (13) and Galbraith (11) completed the trio of Presidents with double-digit kills against the Bearcats. 
 
Senior setter Mallory O'Brien (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) finished with 34 assists and 16 digs. Junior Katie Conner (Pittsburgh, Pa./Vincentian Academy) and Galbraith added in 20 digs apiece. Sophomore Alexis Tomassini (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg) racked up 17 digs and 15 assists. 
 
Thiel 3, W&J 0 (23-25, 19-25, 15-25)
 
The host Tomcats tallied the final two points of the opening set for a 25-23 victory. Thiel then used that momentum to take the next two sets by respective scores of 25-19 and 25-15. 
 
Leading the way defensively for W&J was Coughlin, who totaled a match-high 26 digs. Nelson paced the offense with 13 kills, while Galbraith added seven kills and 19 digs. O'Brien filled the stat sheet with 19 assists, 18 digs and four kills. 
 
The split moves W&J to 3-5 in PAC play. Meanwhile, Thiel improves to 3-3 and Saint Vincent drops to 1-5 in the league. 

Coughlin finishes the week with 136 digs over three matches. The senior libero totaled 10.46 digs per set. The 55 digs, which Coughlin has recorded twice in the past three matches, is the most by any player in the NCAA this fall regardless of division. 
 
W&J rematches with Thiel for another PAC clash on Tuesday, Oct. 8. Start time is set for 7 p.m. inside the Henry Memorial Center.