Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MEADVILLE, Pa. – Sophomore Julia Weeks earned All-Tournament honors, finishing Saturday's schedule with 15 kills, but the Gators dropped a pair of matches to close out the 2013 Allegheny Gator Invitational at the David V. Wise Center.  Allegheny fell, 3-1, to Bluffton before dropping a 3-0 decision to Buffalo State.

Weeks finished Saturday tied for the team lead with 15 kills.  The sophomore and 2012 All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Honorable Mention selection completed the weekend with 45 kills and a .226 hitting percentage on offense for the Gators, adding seven assists, five service aces, 27 digs and three blocks.

Sophomore Taylor Samuel also tallied 15 kills over the two games.  Freshman Bailey Gawley closed out her first home weekend with 10 kills and five blocks, finishing the tournament with 15 blocks over five games.  Sophomore Jessica Napierata averaged 6.14 assists per game while junior Catherine Kasianowicz posted 4.14 digs per set.

The Gators opened the second day of tournament play with a 25-23 win against Bluffton.  Allegheny came back from a 19-15 deficit in the first set, taking the lead on a six-point run sparked by a solid performance from freshman Nia Burnett on the serve.  Weeks and Kasianowicz put the finishing touches on the first set victory, as Weeks posted a kill to return the serve to Kasianowicz, who served the game point after an attack error from the Beavers.

Bluffton would respond with a 25-17 win in the second set.  The two squads were tied, 15-15, before Bluffton went on a five-point run and held Allegheny off the serve to tie the match.  Allegheny played the Beavers to an 20-20 tie, but once again Bluffton was able to go on a late run to seal the set, taking a 2-1 advantage courtesy of a 25-21 decision in set three.  Bluffton picked up the lead early in the fourth set, utilizing several multi-point runs to win the match, 25-13.

Samuel led the Gators against Bluffton with a team-high 10 kills as Kasianowicz logged 17 digs.  Sophomore Baylie Sheppard picked up 13 digs and two block assists.  Gawley posted four of Allegheny's eight blocks while fellow second year Sarah Swartz picked up two.

Buffalo State rode the momentum from a three- set sweep of Thiel earlier in the afternoon against Allegheny, holding off a late Allegheny run to take the first set 25-22.  The Gators were down, 18-8, but a five-point run led by Kasianowicz on the serve, an additional two-point run on serve from sophomore Stormie Hockenberry and another impressive run led by Burnett brought the Gators to within two points before Buffalo State clinched the set.

The Bengals would finish the match hitting .314 in the second set, taking a 25-15 decision, before logging 12 team kills in the third, closing out the tournament with an 18-25 third set win.

Allegheny will host Grove City in a non-conference bout on Thursday, Sept. 19 before opening NCAC play against Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, Sept. 21 as part of a tri-match with Case Western Reserve.