PITTSBURGH, Pa.— The Allegheny volleyball team traveled south to Pittsburgh to face Chatham in a midweek nonconference game Thursday (Sept. 26).
 
The Cougars picked up the win in four sets (17-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22).
 
The Gators jumped out in front early in the opening set and rode that advantage to a 25-17 win.  The teams traded points throughout the early portions of the second set.  Midway through, the Cougars started to pull ahead as they evened up the match with a 25-21 set win.
 
Chatham carried their momentum into the third set as they gained an early advantage.  The Gators slowly chipped away at the lead, as a big run eventually tied the game at 22.  After they took a 23-22 lead, however, the Cougars won the ensuing three points to move ahead in the match 2-1.
 
Similar to the third set, the Cougars had the advantage in the fourth set, with Allegheny mounting a comeback late.  The Gators cut the score to 23-22, but the Cougars won the final two points of the set to secure the match win.
 
Elizabeth Debich (Leechburg, Pa./Kiski Area) led the Gators with 13 kills.  Jillian Kirby (Cincinnati, Ohio/Clermont Northeastern) and Kendall Crum (Chattanooga, Tenn./Girls Preparatory) had seven kills each while Darielis Frias (Trujilo Alto, PR./Colegio de Diego de Carolina) added five.  Olivia D'Andrea (Pittsburgh, Pa./Serra Catholic) had 23 assists.  Overall, the Gators tallied eight aces.
 
Rebecca MacQuarrie (Waterford, Pa./Fort Lebouef) led the Gators with 33 digs.  Nina Claudio (Covina, Calif./La Salle College Preparatory) had 16 digs while D'Andrea tallied 14. 
 
The Gators are back in action Saturday (Sept. 28) when they open North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play against 22^nd-ranked Wittenberg in Meadville.