WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College women's volleyball team (1-2) opened the inaugural Vicki Staton Memorial Tournament with a split. The Presidents opened the day with a 3-1 victory over Alma (1-1) and finished the night with a 3-0 loss to Meredith (3-0).
W&J 3, Alma 1 (25-16, 25-17, 13-25, 25-20)
Rian Benz (Strongsville, Ohio/Holy Name) led the Presidents offensively with 15 kills and a .400 hitting percentage. She also finished with 10 digs.
Cali Dagen (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) finished with 13 kills, seven digs and two service aces.
Emma Padovano (Richwood, Ohio/North Union) led the team in blocks with four.
Abby Oldham (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) and
Lola Jacobs (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) also added three blocks each.
Sydney Allen (Washington, Pa./Trinity) led the team in digs with 17.
W&J built a quick 6-2 lead off service aces from Allen and errors from the Scots. Kills by Dagen and Padovano as well as a service ace from Dagen gave W&J a 21-14 lead. Benz secured the Presidents first set victory of the day with back-to-back kills, 25-16.
W&J created a similar early advantage in the second set before surrendering the lead to Alma in the early going, 13-8. Kills by Jacobs and Benz catapulted the Presidents to a 16-15 edge over the Scots before knotting the score at 16. W&J held Alma to one kill through the rest of the match, outscoring the Scots by a 9-1 differential to win set two, 25-17.
Alma flipped the script on W&J in the third set, growing a 15-4 advantage over the Presidents. Benz and
Eva McKnight (East Liverpool, Ohio/Beaver) tallied kills down the stretch as the Scots won set three, 25-13.
The Presidents got back on track in set four, opening the set with a 7-3 edge. Alma cut the lead to one at 14-13 prior to the Red & Black rattling off a three-point spree including kills by Dagen and Jacobs along with a service ace from
Isabella Bottiglieri (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin). After tying the game at 17, the Presidents outscored the Scots by a 8-3 margin to close the door on the first victory of the season, 25-20. Benz and Jacobs had kills to conclude the fourth set.
W&J 0, Meredith 3 (20-25, 19-25, 20-25)
Benz led the Presidents offense again in game two with eight kills and one service ace. Jacobs led the defense with three blocks and three digs. Bottiglieri finished the second game with 11 assists and 10 digs to lead the team.
W&J went down early in set one after surrendering a 17-7 lead against Meredith. Kills from Dagen and Jacobs helped W&J inch back into the set down the stretch. In a last-ditch effort, W&J entered a five-point run before the Avenging Angels closed the set with the final point, 25-20.
Meredith put up another early advantage to open the second set, holding an 8-2 lead. A kill from Dagen helped the Presidents remain within striking distance, down 18-15. Despite kills from Benz, McKnight and Padovano the Avenging Angels trotted to a 25-19 victory in set two.
W&J managed to create an early lead in the third set as the Meredith offense struggled to open the third frame, 9-7. Despite surrendering the lead for a brief period, the Presidents managed to hold an 18-15 lead, capitalizing from the oppositions' errors. The Avenging Angels battled their way back with a long nine-point swing to give them a 24-18 lead. Benz had two kills prior to the final kill from Meredith to complete the sweep, 25-20.
The Presidents return to the Salvitti Family Gymnasium for two matches on the final day of the Vicki Staton Memorial Tournament on Saturday (Sept. 5). The Presidents first match of the day will be against Oberlin at 9:00 a.m. followed by a 1:00 p.m. meeting with Bluffton. Additional information about the tournament can be found on the
Vicki Staton Memorial Tournament Page.
