MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson women's volleyball team swept their remaining slate at the Allegheny College Tournament this Saturday (Sept. 14), against RIT and Westminster both 3-0.
 
W&J 3, RIT 0 (25-13, 26-24, 25-18)
W&J came out of the gates swinging strong in their second day of matchups in Meadville, Pa. The Presidents jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the first set, headed by Rian Benz (Strongsville, Ohio/Holy Name) which the team took and ran away with in a dominant first-set showing.
 
In the second, W&J had to earn their second-set victory in a highly contested victory. After jumping out to a 4-0 initial lead, the Tigers mounted a quick comeback to even the score at seven. From this point on, neither side was able to hold a consistent lead until the final points. After an attack error from the Presidents to knot the score at 24, Sophie Little (Marysville, Ohio/Fairbanks) and Bridgett Everett (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg Area) both combined for the set ending kills.
 
The competitiveness from both sides remained in the early portion of the third set until the Presidents methodically managed to pull away for good.
 
Benz led the Presidents in their offensive efforts with 12 kills paired with 10 from Little. Little also recorded a .643 hitting percentage to add on to the Presidents opening showing of day two. Aiding in their success was Brielle Moorhouse (East Liberty, Ohio/Benjamin Logan) and Adrianna Sacramento (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) who logged 15 and 14 assists, respectively.
 
Abby Oldham (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) and Jaden Blough (Meyersdale, Pa./Meyersdale) both finished tied for the team-high of two blocks. Piper McFarland (West Mifflin, Pa./Cornerstone Preparatory Academy) locked down the defensive end with 12 digs followed by Benz with 11.
 
 
W&J 3, Westminster 0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-21)
During W&J's second of the day, the team left off right where they started, taking an early lead in the first set of play against the Titans that was never conceded. The Presidents a five-point swing in the first, launching them past Westminster in the early going.
 
The Presidents managed to jump out to another early lead in the second which set up their fifth-straight set victory of the day overall. With spurts of point swings in favor of W&J, the team brushed off a late comeback attempt from Westminster. The Titans managed to close the gap in the final points of the set, but to no avail as a kill by Blough and attack error from Westminster halted any comeback ambition.
 
The third-set of play saw some of the most dominant offensive efficiency the Presidents have seen all season. The team recorded a .615 hitting percentage in the third set as they closed out their first meeting with Westminster prior to official PAC play. W&J also only committed one attacking error offensively to Westminster's six.
 
Little mustered a dominant showing against Westminster, logging the game-high in kills with 17 and posting a season-high .667 hitting percentage. Blough also tacked on 11 kills to aid in the offensive efforts. Sacramento posted a game-high 24 assists followed by Moorhouse who tallied 16.
 
Defensively, the Presidents were headed by Oldham who recorded four blocks. On the back row, Benz and McFarland took care of business with 15 and 11 digs, respectively.
 
Following the conclusion of the final matches, Sophie Little was named to the Allegheny College Tournament All-Tournament Team.
 
The Presidents are set to resume action on the court Wednesday (Sept. 18) at Carlow. Opening serve is slated for 6:00 p.m.