OBERLIN, Ohio – The Allegheny College volleyball team snapped a three-match losing streak in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play with a five-set victory over Oberlin College this evening.
Allegheny (15-8, 2-4 NCAC) needed a fifth and deciding set for the fourth time this season, but improved to 3-1 in matches of that duration. Despite outhitting the Gators .266 to .221, Oberlin (7-13, 2-4 NCAC) fell in part to its poor serves as the Yeowomen racked up 14 service errors.
Sophomore right side
Morgan Bush registered double-digit kills for the fifth time this season, leading Allegheny with 12 on 31 swings. Freshman middle hitter
Bree Blair and senior outside hitter
Julia Weeks added nine apiece for the victors.
After missing the Gators' previous match at Denison, sophomore setter
Justine Kelly welcomed herself back with a 42-assist performance. Kelly also added seven digs defensively and connected on six swings.
Sophomore libero
Terra Schall paced Allegheny with 25 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist
Kylee Karczewski and senior outside hitter
Taylor Samuel also collected double-digit digs with 14 and 10, respectively.
In addition to her efficient offensive night, Blair was a force at the net with a team-leading four blocks (one solo, three assist). Weeks and sophomore middle hitter
Leah Franzluebbers added a pair of block assists each.
The Gators took the first set, 25-21. Weeks picked up a third of her kills in the frame, connecting on three of four swings with a single mishit.
Weeks added another three kills in the second stanza, but Oberlin knotted the match up at one with a 25-18 win. The Yeomen then forced a do-or-die fourth set for Allegheny with a 25-22 victory in the middle frame. Blair, Bush, and Franzluebbers each tallied three kills in the set.
The visitors stayed alive with their own 25-22 win in the fourth stanza.
Oberlin took four of the first six points in the final frame, but the Gators stormed back with a three-point rally thanks to a kill and block by Blair and a kill from Bush. Jillian Hostetler stopped the bleeding by finding the floor for the Yeowomen, but another Blair kill gave Allegheny the advantage again.
The back-and-forth trend would continue for the next seven points before Blair struck again with her fourth point of the set. Oberlin responded with a point out of a timeout, but Bush kept the Gator lead at two with a kill.
Hostetler, who led all players with 22 kills on the evening, picked up two more kills near the end of the frame, but they sandwiched another successful swing from Blair. Weeks answered Hostetler's last kill with one of her own to make it 14-12, but the Yeomen came back from a timeout to tie it with two consecutive points.
Unbothered by the potential change of momentum, Allegheny finished off the hosts with kills from Franzluebbers and Bush.
With 20 more digs, Schall will move into 10th for digs in Gator single-season history. The sophomore currently has 547 for the season.
Allegheny completes a six-match road trip on Saturday, Oct. 24 when it travels to Kenyon.
