ALLIANCE, Ohio— The Allegheny College volleyball team fell in a pair of nonconference matches at the Mount Union Invitational Saturday (Sept. 2).
The Gators dropped a five-set thriller to Alma College to start the day (25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 15-25, 12-15)
The teams went back-and-forth to open the match. Alma slowly took control, moving ahead 12-8. However, the Gators fought back, going on a 6-0 run trailing 16-13 to take a 19-16 lead. The end of the set mirrored the beginning, as the teams found themselves tied at 23. The Gators won the ensuing pair of points to take the set, 25-23.
The Scots got off to a fast start, scoring the opening four points of set two, The Gators slowly chipped away at the Alma lead, bringing the set within one at 15-14. Alma earned a set point at 24-19. The Gators staved off four set points but ultimately fell 25-23.
The Gators gained an early advantage in the third set, jumping ahead 7-5. They maintained that lead throughout the set as they captured it 25-19.
In the fourth set, the Scots broke open a back-and-forth contest by going on a 7-0 run tied at 14, forcing a fifth set with a 25-15 win.
The deciding set was a tight one, as the teams traded points until the Scots pushed ahead, 13-11. After the Gators pulled within one, the Scots won the final two points to capture the set 15-12.
Karissa Welker,
Hannah Cubarney, Leah Franzleubbers and
Alysha Crowther all had four kills apiece to lead the Gators.
Justine Kelly finished with 18 assists.
Defensively,
Terra Schall had 15 digs to lead the team, while serving up four aces.
Rebecca MacQuarrie and
Kylee Karczewski had six digs apiece.
In their second match of the day, the Gators fell to SUNY Geneseo in three sets (16-25, 21-25, 27-29).
In the opening set, the Knights got off to a fast start, amassing a 12-5 lead. The Gators cut the lead to four on the heels of a 3-0 but ultimately fell 25-16.
The Gators regained their footing early in the second set, taking a 5-1 lead. However, the Knights went on a 9-3 run to gain control en route to a 25-20 win.
Once again, the Gators got off to a hot start in the third set, taking a 7-2 lead. The Knights answered with a 5-0 run to tie it, but the Gators rattled off three straight points to pull ahead 10-7. Geneseo made up some ground and tied the game at 11. The back-and-forth continued until the Knights went on a 4-0 run to take a 18-16 lead. That run led the Knights to a 24-19 lead but the Gators held strong, holding off multiple match points to stay in it. However, the Knights were able to break serve and win the set 29-27.
Franzluebbers led the Gators with seven kills against the Knights. Crowther added five kills while Kelly had 19 assists.
Defensively, Schall led the Gators with nine digs while Karczewski had seven. The duo also had three aces apiece.
The Gators open the home portion of their schedule against Fredonia on Tuesday (Sept. 5) at 7 p.m.
