WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College women's volleyball team (3-11,0-2) was bested by the visiting Westminster Titans (9-7,1-0) by a five-set final score of 3-2 (20-25, 25-21, 19-25, 28-26, 15-12).
The Presidents offensively were led by
Cali Dagen (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) and
Rian Benz (Strongsville, Ohio/Holy Name) who had 18 and 16 kills, respectively.
Isabella Bottiglieri (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) led the team in assists with 33 followed by
Brielle Moorhouse (East Liberty, Ohio/Benjamin Logan) with 23.
Abby Oldham (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) led the team in the middle with four total blocks. Libero
Sydney Allen (Washington, Pa./Trinity) led the team in digs with a career-high 41 digs.
W&J and Westminster came out of the gates trading lead changes to open the first set. The Titans grew a temporary 13-10 lead in the midst of the opening set before being stalled by kills by Dagen and Moorhouse. Kills by Benz and
Emma Padovano (Richwood, Ohio/North Union) gave the Presidents an 18-17 advantage before the Titans climbed back to a 20-18 lead. Despite kills from Benz and
Lola Jacobs (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) to tie the match at 20, Westminster scored the final five points to take the 25-20 set one win.
No unit set a consistent tone in the second set, seeing no more than one three-point swing until the Presidents gained a 22-17 lead off kills from Dagen and Padovano. Westminster picked up four points in the final stretch but were matched with two kills by Dagen and a costly Titans attack error which ended the second set in favor of the Presidents, 25-21.
W&J surrendered the third set in a similar fashion, dropping the third set on an attack error on the match point, 25-19.
The Presidents rebounded quickly with their best offensive set of the afternoon, hitting a .283 as a team in the fourth set. Down 20-18 in the fourth set, W&J inched back to a 24-24 tie thanks to a Titans service error. After a returned service error, the Presidents answered back with a kill from
Aubrey Fetchik (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon) to knot the set at 25-25. Westminster answered the call one last time with a kill before dropping the following three points to W&J. Kills from
Stella Stossel (Indiana, Pa./Indiana), Oldham and Dagen completed the fourth set victory with a 28-26 final.
The Presidents couldn't manage to complete the victory in the fifth set, not holding more than a one-point lead through the final frame, 15-12. Benz led the team in kills in the final set with three accompanied by Dagen with two. Freshman
Eva McKnight (East Liverpool, Ohio/Beaver Local) and Fetchik each had a kill in the fifth set.
The Presidents return to action on Wednesday (Sept. 30) to kickoff a four-game away slate starting with a match against the Saint Francis Red Wolves. First serve is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start.
