GREENVILLE, Pa. (Oct. 1) -- The Thiel College Women's Volleyball team swept Hiram College Wednesday evening in a battle of the top two teams in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) North Division from Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium.
The Tomcats improve to 9-4 (4-1) with set score wins of 25-23, 25-21 and 25-19 to claim sole possession of first in the PAC North. The Terriers fall to 12-2 (4-1) and have their 10-match winning streak snapped.
Hiram held leads of 8-3 and 11-5 in set one before a 4-1 Thiel run got the home side within 12-9. After 12 combined sideouts, the Terriers pulled ahead 19-14. Consecutive
Kylee Jordan (Orrville, Ohio/Waynedale) kills off assists from
Carlie Reynolds (Grove City, Pa./Grove City Area) pulled Thiel within 2 at 20-18. A
Daisy Jenness (Pendleton, Ore./Pendleton) kill kickstarted a 6-1 Thiel run capped with a block from
Arin DeLattre (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) and
Caitlin Stephens (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) to make it 24-22 as another Jenness kill ended the frame and put Thiel up 1-0.
With a dig late in set one, Reynolds became the fourth player in team history to total 1,000 career digs and assists. Reynolds finished with a match-pacing 37 assists and 10 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. She added a match-best three aces and a pair of block assists.
Jenness led all attackers with 15 kills on .256 to go with 13 digs for her third straight double-double and sixth of the season. Stephens posted six kills on .500 from the middle to go with three digs and two block assists.
DeLattre posted four kills and a match-leading seven blocks along with four digs.
Like set one, Hiram jumped to an early 8-3 lead in set two. Thiel responded with a 6-0 spurt capped with a
Lyndzee Amory (Edinboro, Pa./Saegertown) and Stephens combo block to lead 9-8. Hiram used a 7-0 spurt to pull ahead 17-13 before Thiel answered with 4 unanswered and 8 of the next 9, the last of which came on a Jordan ace, to lead 21-18. The Terriers got within 1 at 22-21, but Thiel ended the set with a 3-0 run to lead 2-0.
Jordan logged nine kills and five digs in the victory.
Thiel pulled ahead 17-12 in set three with a 4-0 run that featured a pair of Amory kills. Hiram got within at 17-16, but a 4-2 Thiel spurt capped with a Jenness kill made it 21-18 home side. Thiel closed with a 4-0 spurt as Reynolds closed the match with an ace to seal the win.
Amory finished with six kills and a career-high-tying four blocks.
The Tomcats totaled five aces in the victory and hit .188 to Hiram's .077.
The Blue and Gold held a 71-70 edge in digs as
Danielle Aulet (Lawrence, Kan./Mineral Ridge) dug a match-best 21 balls.
Alex Ball (Clymer, Pa./Indiana Area) added nine digs and
Sarah Wilson (Rural Valley, Pa./West Shamokin) had five. At the net, Thiel had eight blocks (16 BA) to Hiram's three (6 BA).
The Tomcats are back in action at Saint Vincent Saturday beginning at 5 p.m.
