WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College women's volleyball team wrapped up the 2026 Vicki Staton Memorial Tournament with a split of their matches Saturday afternoon inside the Salvitti Family Gymnasium. The Presidents opened the day with a sweep of Oberlin College. Later in the day, the Red and Black dropped a hard-fought decision in four sets to Bluffton University.
W&J 3, Oberlin 0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-16)
Cali Dagen (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) led the offensive efforts with 11 kills and a .421 hitting percentage.
Brielle Moorhouse (East Liberty, Ohio/Benjamin Logan) produced a team-high 14 assists.
Isabella Bottiglieri (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) chipped in nine digs, eight assists and two service aces. Defensively,
Sydney Allen (Washington, Pa./Trinity) had a game-high 13 digs, five service aces and six assists.
Abby Oldham (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) led the efforts at the net with four total blocks.
W&J jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the opening set behind five-straight points. The Red and Black countered with eight-straight points to regain the lead at 12-8. Later in the set, four service aces by Allen helped spark an 8-1 stretch that helped W&J take the lead for good. The last of which made it 19-15 Presidents in favor of the Presidents. The Red and Black finished off the victory with four of the final five points in the set.
The two teams battled through the first half of the second set. With the score evened at 17, W&J picked up four-straight points including a pair of service aces by Bottiglieri, making it a 21-17 lead for the Presidents. A kill by
Rian Benz (Strongsville, Ohio/Holy Name) and a service ace by
Lola Jacobs (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) secured the 25-22 decision in the set.
The Presidents rolled through the third set en route to the sweep. A trio of kills by Jacobs fueled six-straight points to swell the advantage to 13-3. An ace by Allen and two kills by Dagen made it a 21-8 advantage later in the set. The Presidents eventually closed out the set with a 25-16 margin.
Bluffton 3, W&J 1 (25-23, 23-25, 24-26, 25-27)
Benz led all players with 14 kills while Dagen added 13 kills. Moorhouse filled the stat sheet with 19 assists, 13 digs and a game-high five service aces.
Allen continued to excel, as she finished with a career-high 28 digs to lead the back row efforts. Oldham and
Aubrey Fetchik (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon) led the defensive efforts at the net, with five total blocks and three total blocks, respectively.
Each of the four sets went down to the wire. The Presidents took the opening set by a 25-23 margin. W&J registered the final four points of the set, which included a block by Oldham and
Eva McKnight (East Liverpool, Ohio/Beaver) to conclude the set win.
Bluffton evened things up with a narrow advantage in the second set. The Presidents led by a 23-21 margin before the Beavers tallied the final four points of the set.
The Beavers prevailed in the third set by a 26-24 margin. The set featured six ties before Bluffton tallied the final two points.
Things looked promising for the fourth set, as the Presidents ripped off 11-straight points to open the frame. Moorhouse registered four aces during the spurt. From that point, Bluffton meticulously mounted a comeback and eventually took the set in extra points. The Presidents gained set point before the Beavers recorded the final three points.
The back-and-forth match was reflected on the stat sheet. The Presidents held a 52-48 advantage in kills. Meanwhile, the Beavers led in aces (11-10), total blocks (12-7) and digs (86-84).
Notes: Allen represented W&J on the 2026 Vicki Staton Memorial Tournament All-Tournament Team. Allen finished the weekend with 66 digs, 20 assists and eight service aces.
Up Next: W&J travels to Denison University for a non-conference match with the Big Red on Tuesday, September 8. Match time in Granville, Ohio is scheduled for 7 p.m.
