Women’s Volleyball goes 1-1 on first day of Saint Vincent Bearcat Challenge

LATROBE, Pa. --- Carlow University women's volleyball went 1-1 on the first day of the Saint Vincent Bearcat Challenge Friday afternoon.

The Celtics fell 3-1 to host Saint Vincent before sweeping Waynesburg, 3-0.

vs. Saint Vincent: L, 3-1 (21-25, 12-25, 25-19, 20-25)

Carlow bookended a four-set match against host Saint Vincent with two tough sets, but the Bearcats came out on top.

Rebecca Hess (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) led the Celtics with a double-double 15 kills and 15 digs in the effort. Kelsey Sufak (Allison Park, Pa./Deer Lakes HS) recorded a game-high 16 digs, and Jorja Sedlar (Brentwood, Pa./PA Leadership Charter School) contributed three solo blocks.

Carlow hit .308 to win the third set, 25-19. The Celtics went ahead 13-6 before Saint Vincent rallied to trail by three points. That was as close as Carlow would allow, as the Celtics maintained their distance to close out the third set win.

Carlow tied the game four times and gained the lead twice in the first set until the Bearcats scored seven unanswered points to win, 25-21.

Saint Vincent made quick work of the Celtics in the second set, and Carlow rallied for another battle in the fourth set.

The Celtics led early on, but the Bearcats peppered in enough points to gain the lead, holding Carlow at bay until the end. A kill from Hess and back-to-back errors by the Bearcats saw Carlow trailing by three, but two errors in a row handed Saint Vincent the final set win.

Meegan Williams led the Bearcats with a game-high 16 kills. Williams and Sani Jones tallied 14 digs apiece. Dakota Hershberger added 14 kills.

vs. Waynesburg: W, 3-0 (25-22, 31-29, 25-20)

The Celtics survived a win-by-two second set and held off the Yellow Jackets for the sweep in the second match of the day.

Hess tallied another double-double with a game-high 15 kills and 13 digs. Sufak added 11 digs, Sedlar contributed four solo blocks and Sarah Porter (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway HS) tallied 17 assists.

Waynesburg began with a 10-5 lead in the first set before back-to-back kills from Suzy Walker (Boswell, Pa./North Star HS) saw the Celtics down by one.

The Yellow Jackets held onto their tenuous lead, but a kill from Chloe Coddington (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette HS) set off a 9-1 run that gave Carlow a 20-16 advantage.

Two errors and an ace put Waynesburg within reach, but Hess ended the game with a kill.

Carlow led the entire second set until the very end. Trailing 21-15, a 10-3 run handed the Yellow Jackets a 25-24 lead.

The teams traded a few points back and forth, but Carlow had the final say with a Waynesburg service error and another kill from Hess to end the game.

Both teams traded leads and tied the score several times in the third set until a 7-1 run put the Celtics ahead, 23-18. A kill from Walker and a Waynesburg attacking error ended the set and the match in favor of Carlow.

Kristina Zadrozny led Waynesburg with 11 kills, and Jaina McWilliams added 11 digs in the effort.

Carlow returns to Latrobe for the second day of the Saint Vincent Bearcat Challenge Saturday morning.