GREENVILLE, Pa. – In front of an energetic crowd of near 200 the women's volleyball squad registered a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) rival Thomas More College Tuesday evening at Beeghly Gymnasium.

In the opening set the teams went back and forth as the score was tied 16-16 until the Saints, with Brittany Rohrkasse at the service line, went on a 6-0 run to jump out in front 22-16. The Tomcats battled late but fell short 25-17.

Thiel (13-8, 8-4) trailed the Saints in the second set until tying the game at 22-22 off an Alyssa Chine (North Jackson, Ohio/Jackson Milton) kill. Thomas More would regain the lead at 23-22, but Megg Andrews (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) responded with a kill and evened the score at 23-23. Chine would again come through in the clutch for the Tomcats as she hammered down another kill, making the score 24-23. With the crowd on their feet, the Saints Katie Sullivan attacked the ball but was met at the net by Andrews and Chine, sending the ball back into the Saints court for a Tomcat point and 25-23 Tomcat win.

After watching Thomas More battle back in the third to get to within two, 12-10, Thiel used a six-point run to jump ahead 22-13 and cruised to a 25-16 win.

In the fourth set the teams played to a 4-4 tie until Kelsey Castiglioni served seven straight points for the Saints to go up 11-4. After Thiel won back the serve Kelly Barzak (Warren, Ohio/Howland) served six straight points, including two aces and a pair of  Chine kills to tie the set at 11-11. Thomas More would outscore the Tomcats 14-7 over the remainder of the fourth to force a fifth and deciding set.

The fifth set saw a back and forth struggle as the Tomcats quickly jumped out to a 6-3 lead behind kills from Barzak, Chine, and Megan Kay (Girard, Ohio/Liberty). After a timeout Thomas More came back to cut the lead to one at 7-6. Thiel, extending their lead to 10-7, saw the Saints use their second and final timeout. After the break the Saints went on a 6-1 run to put Thiel on the ropes, 14-11. The Tomcats received a big kill from Barzak to win back the serve. Alex Hall (Norwin, Pa./Norwin) then served up four straight points with the help of kills by Barzak, Kay, and the final tally by Chine to take the set 16-14 and the match 3-2.

It was a night of career marks for two Tomcat student-athletes. Chine set her career high in kills in a match, totaling 31 while making just four errors in 70 attempts for a hitting percentage of .386. Chelsea Meister (Liberty Center, Ohio/Liberty Center) also had a career day as she cracked the 50 assist plateau for the first time, notching 55 for the day. Offensively, Thiel registered 66 kills with Chine leading the way. Barzak and Kay also reached double-digit marks in kills with 13 and 11, respectively. The Tomcats notched a season-best 98 digs with a pair of freshmen leading the way as libero Lauren Downs (Mentor, OH/Mentor HS) and Hall had 26 and 22 digs, respectively.

When asked of his team's performance in the game, head coach Steve Brewer responded, “This is the kind of performance that we have been looking for from our team all season. These are the expectations that we have for our team every time they step on the court, and they delivered in a big way tonight.”

Thiel will continue conference play on Thursday, Oct. 13 when they travel to Saint Vincent College. The contest in Latrobe is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start time.