LATROBE, Pa. – The Allegheny College volleyball team rebounded from a hard-fought loss against Fredonia on Tuesday with two three-set victories this evening on the opening day of the Bearcat Challenge.
Allegheny (2-1, 0-0 NCAC) was one of two teams to win both of its matches on the day, joining conference foe Wooster, who defeated Franciscan and Muskingum. The Gators knocked off Waynesburg and the invitational host Saint Vincent to earn their perfect mark.
Senior outside hitter
Taylor Samuel paced Allegheny on the evening with two double-doubles, totaling 22 kills and 23 digs. The Garden State native was very efficient with her swings against the Yellow Jackets, hitting at a .346 clip in the first match. Sophomore right side
Morgan Bush added nine kills and two blocks (1 solo, 1 assist) in the afternoon tilt.
Bush starred in the evening stanza, tallying a team-high 11 kills on a .276 hitting percentage. Middle hitters
Sarah Swartz and
Leah Franzluebbers made it difficult for the Bearcats to run their offense as the two Gators combined for a solo block and six block assists.
Sophomore libero
Terra Schall collected 19 digs in both matches. Classmate
Kylee Karczewski also hit the double-digit mark against Waynesburg and Saint Vincent, tallying 10 and 13, respectively. Sophomore setter
Justine Kelly dished out a combined 67 assists in the two contests.
Allegheny put together its best set of the early season in the clincher against the Bearcats. The Gators hit at a .279 clip and kept their offense alive with 27 digs.
Samuel began the aforementioned frame with back-to-back kills to set the tone. After Saint Vincent responded with a kill, Allegheny rattled off four consecutive points thanks to a block by Samuel and Franzluebbers, a kill from senior outside hitter
Julia Weeks, and two attack errors.
The Bearcats cut the Gator advantage in half at 6-3, but Allegheny would answer with a 10-4 run to make it 16-8. Bush, Samuel, and Weeks each found the floor twice during the rally, while the latter and senior middle hitter
Sarah Swartz combined for a block late in the run.
Saint Vincent attempted to march back with a 6-2 rally to make it 18-14. However, a Franzluebbers kill and an attack error pushed the Gator lead back to six and forced a Bearcat timeout. After eight more points were traded, Kelly completed the first day sweep with her third kill of the evening.
Allegheny looks to keep the momentum going tomorrow, starting at 3:00 p.m. against a Muskingum team that beat Frostburg State and fell to Wooster. The Gators close out the invitational at 5:00 p.m. against Carlow, who also went 1-1 on the day.
