BEXLEY, Ohio – The Washington & Jefferson College women's volleyball team (2-6) dropped a pair of four-set decisions at the Pam Briggs Classic Friday evening inside the Capital Center Performance Arena. The two-day event is being hosted in Central Ohio. The Presidents opened the slate with a four-set loss to Otterbein University, a 2025 NCAA qualifier who is receiving votes in this week's AVCA Top 25 poll. W&J later dropped a match to host Capital University in four sets.
(RV) Otterbein 3, W&J 1 (14-25, 22-25, 25-23, 14-25)
Cali Dagen (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) led the Presidents with 11 kills while
Lola Jacobs (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) tallied 10 successful attacks.
Sydney Allen (Washington, Pa./Trinity) finished with 21 digs.
Isabella Bottiglieri (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) chipped in 11 digs to go along with eight assists.
Brielle Moorhouse (East Liberty, Ohio/Benjamin Logan) finished with 15 assists in the loss.
Aubrey Fetchik (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon) produced three total blocks.
The Cardinals (5-0) stayed unbeaten with a four-set win over the Presidents. Otterbein produced a strong opening set in which they bested W&J by a 25-14 margin. The Cardinals were able to edge the Presidents 25-22 in the second set to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
The Presidents avoided the sweep with a 25-23 victory in the third set. W&J became just the second team in five matches this season to take a set off from Otterbein. With the score evened up at 6-6, the Presidents ripped off eight of the next nine points to surge into the lead at 14-7 after kills from Dagen and Jacobs concluded the run. The Cardinals cut the Presidents' advantage to two points (17-15) but Fetchik tallied a kill and a solo block during a four-point spurt to help pad the lead. A kill by Jacobs eventually helped the Presidents finish off the third set.
The Cardinals jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the fourth set. Otterbein mostly cruised through the set en route to a 25-14 victory to take the match.
Otterbein produced steady offense throughout the contest. The Cardinals hit .278 and finished with 62 kills for the match. The third set was the lone set they hit below .250 during the match. They had at least 13 kills in each of the four sets.
Capital 3, W&J 1 (27-29, 25-16, 20-25, 24-26)
Dagen and Jacobs reached double-digit kills for the third-straight game. They both racked up 11 apiece in the loss to the Comets.
Emma Padovano (Richwood, Ohio/North Union) added nine kills.
Allen finished with a match-high 30 digs. Bottliglieri added 21 assists and 12 digs.
Brielle Moorhouse (East Liberty, Ohio/Benjamin Logan) finished with a match-high 24 assists to go along with four service aces.
Jordan Sirianni (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) finished with four service aces and 10 digs.
The host Comets (2-5) bookended the match with narrow set wins to take the victory from the Presidents in the nightcap.
Capital overcame a slow start to rally past W&J in the opening set by a 29-27 margin. The Presidents opened the match with the first seven points. After the Comets answered with a run to trim the deficit to a single point, the Presidents responded to build a 17-10 lead after three-straight aces by Dagen. Capital closed the gap once again late in the set and thwarted off set point for the Presidents before ultimately taking the set. The Presidents took the second set behind a strong run during the middle part of the frame. W&J picked up the decisive set win following an ace by Bottiglieri and kills by Dagen and
Stella Stossel (Indiana, Pa./Indiana).
Capital pulled away late in the third set to take the 2-1 advantage. The Comets recorded three of the final four points during the set before earning it by a 25-20 margin.
The fourth set was back and forth. W&J led by a 24-22 margin after three-straight points including a kill by Fetchik. However, the Comets ripped off four-straight points which included an ace to secure the victory.
Hitting miscues by the Presidents proved costly against the Comets. W&J finished with 12 more kills (56-44) than the Comets. However, the Red and Black had 32 hitting errors including 11 in the fourth set.
Up Next: W&J concludes the Pam Briggs Classic with a non-conference match versus Trine University on Saturday (Sept. 12). Start time is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at the Rike Center at Otterbein University.
