BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Allegheny College volleyball team got back on track with a thrilling five-set victory (26-28, 25-16, 19-25, 25-13, 15-7) over St. John Fisher this evening in its first match of the Buffalo State Bengal Challenge.
Allegheny (16-10, 2-6 NCAC) middle hitters
Bree Blair and
Leah Franzluebbers were dominant at the net, combining for 28 kills on a .434 hitting percentage with nine blocks (two solo, seven assist). Blair found the floor a team-high 15 times and hit at an impressive .519 clip, while Franzluebbers hit .346 for the match with 13 kills.
Sophomore libero
Terra Schall collected a match-high 40 digs, her eighth match with at least 30 on the season. Schall now has 617 on the season and is nine shy of surpassing Molly Dietz (1990) for eighth in single-season program history.
Schall's classmate
Justine Kelly stuffed the stat sheet this evening, tallying 44 assists, nine digs, six kills, and four block assists.
Senior outside hitter
Taylor Samuel served up a season-high six aces and added 14 digs from the back row. Schall and Samuel were two of four Gators in double-figures for digs, joining senior
Julia Weeks (12) and sophomore
Kylee Karczewski (10).
Junior middle hitter
Bailey Gawley provided a boost off the bench, tallying six kills on 10 swings with just a single error.
Blair's 15-kill effort was her first career double-digit performance and tied the second-highest mark for an Allegheny player this season. Franzluebbers' 13 kills also were a season-high.
St. John Fisher (14-16, 2-6 Empire 8) received a double-double from Megan Miller, who tallied 16 kills and 12 digs in the defeat.
Allegheny returns to the court tomorrow when it faces St. Lawrence and Buffalo State. The Gators take on the Saints at 11:00 a.m. before closing the Bengal Challenge at 1:30 p.m. against the hosts.
