GREENVILLE, Pa. (Oct. 24) -- The Thiel College Women's Volleyball team got back on track with a four-set win over Bethany College Friday evening to snap a two-match losing skid in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) interdivisional action on Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium.
The Tomcats improve to 14-6 (9-3) with set score wins of 24-26, 25-21, 25-14 and 25-21 while the Bison roll down to 7-14 (4-8). As a team, the Tomcats set season bests in aces (15), digs (87) and total blocks (15: 4 BS, 22 BA).
Carlie Reynolds (Grove City, Pa./Grove City Area) collected her 2,000th career assist in set two, becoming just the sixth Tomcat ever to reach the mark. She is also just the second Thiel player ever with 1,000 career digs and 2,000 career assists.
Thiel turned an 8-5 set-two deficit into a 14-9 advantage with a 9-1 run. Thiel had three aces and two blocks in the spurt while
Arin DeLattre (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) racked up four kills in the run. The visitors got within 3 at 20-17, but a 3-0 Thiel spurt grew the lead to 23-17 as Reynolds picked up her 2,000th assist in the run. A DeLattre kill ended the frame and evened the match at 1.
Reynolds finished with a match-leading 48 assists along with 15 digs for her team-best 10th double-double of the season. She added a trio of service aces in the triumph.
DeLattre notched 14 kills, the second highest mark in her career, on .313 while adding a career-high-tying nine blocks (1 BS, 8 BA) and a career-best and match-high-tying four aces.
A 10-0 Thiel run in set three with
Daisy Jenness (Pendleton, Ore./Pendleton) at the service line gave the home side a 13-7 advantage. Jenness had two aces in the run and
Kylee Jordan (Orrville, Ohio/Waynedale) logged a trio of kills in the spurt. The Tomcats cruised the rest of the set to a 2-1 match lead as they limited the Bison to .000 hitting in the frame.
Jenness racked up match-highs in kills (17) and attempts (53) while serving three aces and digging seven balls. Jordan recorded 11 kills on .206 and had a career-high-tying three blocks along with seven digs.
A 5-0 Thiel run in set four gave the home side a 17-10 edge. Bethany got as close as 2 at 22-20 and 23-21, but a pair of
Aaleeah Brennan (North Port, Fla./Florida Virtual School) kills along with a match-clinching block from Jordan and DeLattre sealed the victory for the Blue and Gold.
Brennan pitched in a season-best eight kills on .227 while tying her career high with three blocks.
The opening frame had 10 ties and four lead changes as an 8-1 Bethany run opened up a 21-17 edge for the visitors. Thiel fought back with 5-of-6, the last coming on a
Danielle Aulet (Lawrence, Kan./Mineral Ridge) ace, to knot things at 22. Bethany went on to log 3 of the final 4 to take the opening frame.
Aulet dug a team-leading 22 balls and served a match-high-tying four aces.
Macie Williams (Cochranton, Pa./Cochranton) finished with a career-best 13 digs while
Alex Ball (Clymer, Pa./Indiana Area) had seven.
Sarah Wilson (Rural Valley, Pa./West Shamokin) and
Devin Rhoads (Franklin, Pa./Rocky Grove) each logged five digs.
The Tomcats held the Bison to .013 hitting, including -.108 in the fourth set.
Thiel is back in action Wednesday for a 7 p.m. PAC North match at Allegheny. The Tomcats bested the Gators 3-1 in their first meeting this season.
