MEADVILLE, Pa. - Visiting Wooster continued its hot start to the season, defeating Allegheny 3-0 in North Coast Athletic Conference action at the Wise Center.
After Allegheny dropped a back-and-forth first set by a 22-25 score, the Fighting Scots pulled away with victories of 25-15 and 25-10 to seal the three-set win.
Leah Franzluebbers paced Allegheny with nine kills, while
Lauryn Long added five and
Hannah Cubarney and
Alysha Crowther four apiece. Long also posted three of the Gators' four aces, while
Rachel Slotterback tallied a team-high 11 digs, and
Terra Schall 10.
The Gators got off to a strong start in the opening set, turning a 2-2 tie into a 6-3 lead after an ace from Long and a Cubarney kill. The Gators would maintain the lead over the next several serves, until the Fighting Scots turned the tide, rattling off five straight points to take a 12-8 lead after a Gator attack error. Allegheny answered back, as a Long block, followed by kills from Franzluebbers and Schall, cut the Wooster lead to 15-14. Wooster again threatened to pull away, opening up a 19-16 lead, before Allegheny came right back to eventually trim the deficit to 22-21, capping off the run with kills from Cubarney and Crowther. It was as close as Allegheny could get, however, as Wooster rattled off three of the final four set points to earn the game one win. Seven different Gators tallied at least one kill in the opening set, led by three from Franzluebbers, while Kelly ended the opener with two kills, three digs, and eight assists.
In the second set, Wooster took control early, eventually opening up a 7-2 lead. Behind a pair of Franzluebbers kills, a three-point run cut the gap to 7-5, but the Fighting Scots again pulled away, scoring eight of the nine points to go up 15-6. Allegheny could pull no closer than to within seven the rest of the way, as Wooster cruised to the 25-15 win.
After another back-and-forth start to set three, Wooster used a 19-5 run to open up a 14-point lead from which the Gators were unable to recover.
Allegheny will now look to snap its five-match losing streak on Saturday, Oct. 1, as the Gators will travel to Delaware, Ohio to face NCAC foe Ohio Wesleyan in a 1 p.m. match.
