MEADVILLE, Pa.-- The Allegheny College volleyball team fought back from a deficit in the fifth set to defeat Westminster College 3-2 Friday night (Sept. 29) in Meadville.

The Gators won the sets 24-26, 25-19, 17-25, 25-22, 15-11.

After the Titans scored the opening three points of the match, the Gators went on a 6-0 run off the serves of Rebecca MacQuarrie.  The Titans managed to tie the match at six, setting up some back-and-forth action. The Gators slowly pulled ahead to a 14-11 advantage but a 4-0 run by Westminster gave them the lead.   Once again, the Gators regained their footing and tied the game at 17.  Down the stretch, the teams traded points with one another until they were tied at 24.  The Titans attacked for back-to-back kills, giving them the set 26-24.
 
Westminster found the first advantage in the second set at 11-7. Allegheny chipped away at that lead to tie the set at 15.  After trading points, the Gators rattled off a 6-0 run to push ahead.  After the Titans staved off a pair of set points, an error gave the Gators a 25-19 set win.
 
The Titans gained the early advantage in the third set, and used that momentum to move to an 18-8 lead.  The Gators managed to cut the gap to 22-16 on some small runs, but the Titans won three of the final four points to take the third set 25-17.
 
Allegheny took a small lead early in set four and grew it to a 10-5 lead.  The Titans went on a 5-1 run to pull within one, 11-10, before a 4-0 Gator run forced a Titan timeout.  Following the timeout, Westminster cut the gap to 16-14 but the Gators responded with a 3-0 run.  The Gators earned a set point at 24-17 but the Titans stayed alive until a kill by Alysha Crowther gave the Gators a 25-22 set win, forcing a decisive fifth set.
 
The Titans got off to a hot start in the deciding set, taking a 9-3 lead.  A key block from Crowther and Hannah Cubarney got the train rolling for the Gators.  Trailing 9-4, Kylee Karczewski's serving led the Gators on an 8-0 run to give them an 11-9 lead.
 
Following a Titan timeout, the teams traded points with the Gators maintaining a 12-11 lead.  After a kill by Grace Lengauer, an attack error gave the Gators a match point.  After a rally, Leah Frazluebbers blocked an attack, giving Allegheny a 15-11 win, securing the match.
 
Lengauer led the Gators offense with 12 kills.  Franzluebbers and Crowther finished with nine apiece.  The Gators did well serving, totaling 13 aces.  Rachel Slotterback led the team with threw, while MacQuarrie and Karczewski had a pair each.  Justine Kelly had 39 assists. 
 
Defensively, Terra Schall led Allegheny with 29 digs.  Karczewski and Slotterback also finished in double digits with 15 and 12, respectively.  Franzluebbers had five blocks while Crowther and Cubarney had three apiece.
 
The Gators are back at home Saturday (Sept. 30) for matches against Buffalo State (12 p.m.) and Pitt-Greensburg (2 p.m.).

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