NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Allegheny volleyball team's season concluded on the road at Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) foe Westminster, falling to the Titans in five sets.
The Titans won the sets 20-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 15-10.
After some back-and-forth play to start the match, the Gators rattled off a 5-0 run to gain a 15-8 lead in the opening set. Allegheny was able to maintain that advantage the rest of the way as
Skyler Fatola (Queen Creek, Ariz./Eastmark) capped off the 25-20 set win with a kill.
Allegheny earned an early lead in the second set at 9-5 following another 5-0 run. The advantage reached 18-10 later in the set following a 3-0 run. The Titans battled back, taking the lead at 22-21 following a 10-1 run. The Gators would stop a set point but ultimately dropped the set 25-23.
The teams were even for most of the third set. Midway through, the Gators started to pull away with a 7-2 run, moving ahead 21-17. The Titans held off a pair of Allegheny set points before a
Reilly Mendez (Los Gatos, Calif./Los Gatos) kill ended the set at 25-20.
The Titans answered by starting the fourth set on a 7-1 run. The Gators slowly chipped away at the Westminster advantage, coming within three points at 23-20, but dropped the set 25-21, forcing the fifth and deciding set.
The fifth start started with the two sides exchanging points. The set remained close until the Titans won five straight points to earn a match point at 14-8. The Gators staved off a pair of match points but it was not enough as the Titans took the set 15-10 to win the match.
Inside the Box
- Fatola led the Gators with 16 kills, her second highest total of the season. She also had four digs.
- Sydney Kirk (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton LaSalle Catholic) finished with 15 kills and six digs.
- Mendez had a dozen kills to go with six digs.
- Carlee Pepperman (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte Area) had nine kills and 19 digs.
- Amaya Brooks (North Olmsted, Ohio/Lutheran West) had seven kills.
- Izzy Gray (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) and Joanna Miller (Pittsburgh, Pa./Gateway) had 25 assists apiece.
- Jacy Diaz (Barranquitas, Puerto Rico/Gallatin (Tenn.)) finished the match with 34 kills, her fifth 30 plus dig performance of the season.
- Duru Akbas (Ankara, Turkey/Layton Christian Academy (Utah)) tied a career-high with 20 digs.
News and Notes
- The Gators finished the season with a 14-13 overall record and an 8-8 mark in PAC play.
- Allegheny is now 21-16 all-time against Westminster.
- Diaz finishes her career with a program record 2,525 career digs. That total is also second all-time in PAC, trailing only Thomas More's Kelsey Castiglioni's record of 2,529.