WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson volleyball team battled throughout the night but ultimately fell in four sets to NAIA member Point Park University Wednesday in the Presidents' home opener at Salvitti Family Gymnasium.
Facing a 24-19 deficit and set point in the opening set, the Presidents responded with seven consecutive points to earn a hard-fought 26-24 victory. The opening set win was fueled by the steady net play from
Lizzie Carmichael (Wyoming, Ohio) and
Jaden Blough (Meyersdale, Pa./Meyersdale) as well as successful swings by
Faith Fetsko (South Park, Pa./South Park). Fetsko initiated the comeback with a kill before teaming up with Carmichael for a block. After another hitting error by the Pioneers, Blough and Carmichael assisted on a block that cut the deficit to 24-23 to force a Point Park timeout. Another errant attack attempt evened the score before solo blocks from Carmichael and Blough capped the set one win for the Presidents.
Point Park responded back in the second set to even the score. After seeing W&J jump out to a 5-2 advantage, Point Park forged an 11-2 run to pull ahead by a 13-7 margin. W&J responded with nine of the next 12 points to close within one (16-15) on a kill by Fetsko, which forced a Pioneers timeout. From there, Point Park was able to regroup and methodically pulled away to claim a 25-19 victory in the second set.
The third set ultimately swung the momentum in favor of the visitors. The Presidents took advantage of several Point Park attack errors to build a sizable 11-2 advantage. However, as quickly as the lead was built, it was erased as the Pioneers would use an extended 16-3 run to build a four-point (18-14) lead. W&J could never recover in the third and fell by a 25-18 score.
The momentum Point Park had built in the two prior sets spilled over in the fourth as they were able to find consistent offense for the first time all night. The Pioneers hit .333 (16 kills, 5 errors) in the fourth set as they built a 10-4 lead before seeing the advantage swell to as many as 10 (24-14) in the final set of the night.
W&J was paced by a trio of players who finished with at least nine kills. Fetsko tallied a team-high 11 kills while Carmichael added 10 on a team-best .429 hitting percentage. Blough registered nine kills in the setback.
Adrianna Sacramento (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) dished out 35 assists and added eight digs.
Defensively, W&J was led by 16 digs from
Piper McFarland (West Mifflin, Pa./Cornerstone Preparatory Academy). Sophia Sacripointe (Butler, Pa./Butler) tallied 12 and Fetsko added 11 digs. At the net, Carmichael and Blough both finished with a season-high four total blocks.
Point Park was led by senior Stephanie Rivera-Pacheco's 18 kills and .412 attack percentage.
The Pioneers outpaced the Presidents in kills (52-39), assists (50-39) and digs (68-59). W&J hit .250 (12 kills, four errors) in the opening set but were unable to sustain that clip as the night wore on.
W&J looks to bounce back on Saturday when they travel to Erie, Pa. to take on Fredonia (11 a.m.) and Oswego State (3 p.m.) at the Penn State Behrend Tournament.
