WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College volleyball team hosted Geneva and Grove City for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) tri-match at Henry Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday.
 
The Presidents were defeated by Geneva in three sets and Grove City in four sets, dropping W&J's league record to 2-3.
 
Geneva 3, W&J 0 (14-25, 15-25, 20-25)
 
The Red and Black were defeated in three sets by Geneva 25-14, 25-15 and 25-20. Haley Nelson (Warren, Pa./Warren) led the way with 10 kills with Ashley Kovel (Everett, Pa./Everett) adding four. Mallory O'Brien (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) dished 16 assists, had eight digs and a pair of kills. Makenzie Coughlin (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) collected 17 digs in the three-set match.
 
Geneva used a 12-3 spurt in the first set to turn a 4-4 game into a nine-point advantage and cruised to the 25-14 victory. The Golden Tornadoes smacked 13 kills and took advantage of nine W&J errors to claim the set.
 
In the second set Geneva opened an early six-point lead before a Presidents run made it 15-13 visitors. However GT reeled off nine of the next 10 points to secure the set.
 
In the third set Geneva raced out to an 11-2 advantage. Nelson spurred the Presidents to a five-point run with three kills in the sequence to bring W&J within three, trailing 17-14. Freshmen Kyleigh Jester (Ligonier, Pa./Ligonier Valley) and Sophia Sacriponte (Butler, Pa./Butler Area) appeared in the final set for Red and Black and combined for three kills.
 
Hope Shook hit .345 and had 11 kills to lead Geneva. Daphne Hunsinger posted 27 assists and Kayla Coughlin had 16 digs.
 
Grove City 3, W&J 1 (26-24, 17-25, 15-25, 22-25)
 
Despite winning the first set in dramatic comeback fashion, the Presidents fell to Grove City 24-26, 25-17, 25-15 and 25-22.
 
Nelson paced the Presidents once again with 15 kills, hitting .250 for the match with only three hitting errors in 48 swings. Coughlin posted a game-best 35 digs in four sets and O'Brien handed out 24 assists.
 
Coach Lauren London-Law turned to a number of underclass players and received standout performances. Freshman Claire Sauerland (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg Area)posted eight kills and had four block assists. Kovel notched five total blocks, including two solo blocks and three kills. Sacriponte served up a team-best four aces, had five kills and 23 digs. Jester made her way into the middle hitter rotation and recorded three kills, four digs, an ace and a block assist.
 
W&J faced a 22-16 deficit in the first set before storming back. Sacriponte served up a three-point run including an ace and kills from Nelson and Kovel. Facing a GCC set point, Nelson tied the match at 24 with a kill. Following a Wolverine error, Nelson delivered the 26-24 set winner.
 
In the second set Grove City led 16-11 before the Presidents reeled off four of the next five points, including a two kills from Julia Bernesser (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) and another by Jester. The Presidents pulled within one, trailing 18-17, before the Wolverines reeled off the final seven points to take the set.
 
An 11-0 Grove City run in the third set helped the Wolverines to a 16-5 advantage. The Presidents rallied late, closing the deficit to five with a 9-2 spurt of their own, including a five-point string with Sacriponte at the service line. Leading 20-15, the Wolverines regrouped after a time out and closed out the set with five-straight consecutive winners.
 
In the fourth, W&J seized an early advantage with the set's first four points. However Grove City reeled off six-straight to regain control. The Presidents used consecutive kills by Julia Galbraith (Pittsburgh, Pa./Vincentian Academy) and a pair of GCC errors to knot the game at 19, but a pair of kills by Grove City's Emma Hartshorn gave GCC a lead it would not relinquish to take the set 25-20 and the match 3-1.
 
The Wolverines had three players with double-digit kills with Faith Keating (13), Maria Boris (10) and Hartshorn (10) leading the way. Cassidy Kohmann handed out 46 assists and had eight kills while Katie McClymonds had 29 digs.
 
 
W&J continues its way through the PAC's double-round-robin league play with a home matchup with Westminster on Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m.