SALISBURY, Md. (Aug. 30) -- The Thiel College Women's Volleyball team collected its first win in the
Eric Visgitis era with a 3-0 triumph over Penn State Altoona Saturday afternoon to close out Salisbury's Margie Knight Classic.
The Tomcats rise to 1-2 on the young season with set score wins of 25-22, 25-21 and 25-22 while the Lions drop to 0-3.
Thiel used a 7-0 run in set one to pull ahead 10-3. The Lions got within 2 at 17-15, but Thiel answered with a 4-1 run that ended with a
Daisy Jenness (Pendleton, Ore./Pendleton) kill to make it 21-16. A
Danielle Aulet (Lawrence, Kansas/Mineral Ridge) ace gave Thiel 4 set-point tries at 24-20 and a kill from
Arin DeLattre (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) ended the frame and put Thiel up 1-0.
Jenness logged a match-best 17 kills on .231 hitting and dug 12 balls for her first double-double of the season. Aulet posted match bests in digs (15) and aces (three).
Thiel climbed to a 12-6 edge in set two on a DeLattre kill before the Lions rattled off 5 straight to make it 12-11. The Tomcats grew the lead back to 6 with a 6-1 spurt that featured an ace and a kill from
Kylee Jordan (Orrville, Ohio/Waynedale). Penn State Altoona got within 1 at 19-18, but an ace from
Carlie Reynolds (Grove City, Pa./Grove City Area) capped a 3-0 run to put Thiel up 22-18 as the Tomcats eventually took the frame 25-21.
DeLattre continued her solid play on the day as she logged 10 kills on .444 hitting to go with two blocks (1 BS, 1 BA) and two aces. Jordan added six kills along with two aces and digs each.
Reynolds dished out a match-pacing 32 assists along with 10 digs for her second double-double of the day. She added a pair of aces in the win.
Set three had 12 ties and four lead changes as neither side could find separation. Trailing 21-19, Jenness rattled off back-to-back kills to even the match. After a Lions side out, Jenness notched two more kills to spark a match-ending 4-0 run that ended on a
Kelly Peplowski (Hubbard, Ohio/Ursuline) kill to give Thiel the sweep.
Peplowski finished with three kills on three attempts.
Aaleeah Brennan (North Port, Fla./Florida Virtual School) added three kills and a pair of block assists in the triumph.
Thiel out-dug Penn State Altoona 57-45 as
Alex Ball (Clymer, Pa./Indiana Area) added nine digs and
Macie Williams (Cochranton, Pa./Cochranton) posted four. The Tomcats held the edge from the service line with 10 aces and five errors to the Lions' seven aces and 11 errors.
The Tomcats return to action next Friday against Bluffton (5 p.m.) and Fredonia (7 p.m.) in the Penn State Behrend Tournament.
