ERIE, Pa. (Sept. 11) -- The Thiel College Women's Volleyball team opened the 2026 season with a split on day one of the Penn State Behrend Invitational from the Junker Center.
The Tomcats (1-1) logged a five-set triumph over Fredonia (3-2) in the opener before falling in four sets to Muskingum (6-1) in the nightcap. The victory over the Blue Devils marked the first for
Luke Visgitis as leader of the Tomcats.
Match 1: Thiel 3, Fredonia 2 (25-17, 18-25, 25-17, 14-25, 15-13)
Trailing 11-8 in set five, a
Caitlin Stephens (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) kill kickstarted a 6-0 Cats run to make it 14-11. Stephens capped the run with two more kills and she had a solo block in the run. Fredonia got 2 back to make it 14-13 before a final Stephens kill clinched the win for the Blue and Gold.
Stephens logged a match- and career-best 12 kills on .429 with a match-pacing four blocks, three of which were solo stuffs, a career most.
Three straight kills from
Ava Byer (Hollsopple, Pa./Canemaugh Township Area) in set one pushed the Cats ahead 17-9. A 4-0 Blue Devils run was quickly thwarted by 4 unanswered from Thiel starting on an
Arin DeLattre (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) kill that pushed the Cats ahead 21-13. A pair of Stephens kills with a Fredonia error sandwiched between gave the Tomcats the opening frame.
DeLattre posted 10 kills and no errors on .556 to go with a pair of blocks. Byer walloped nine kills on .300 with a block.
After Fredonia took set two, the Cats used a 4-0 run with a
Hannah Myers (Warren, Ohio/John F. Kennedy Catholic) kill to lead 12-10 in the third frame. Knotted at 12, the Blue and Gold used a 5-0 spurt, capped with a
Lyndzee Amory (Edinboro, Pa./Saegertown) kill to lead 17-12. The run ballooned into a 12-2 spurt as a
Megan Darno (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) kill gave the Cats 10 set-point tries at 24-14 before an Amory kill sealed the set.
Amory had five kills and two digs while Myers pitched in four kills and two blocks. Darno logged three kills and a block.
Thiel recorded 38 digs in the win as
Jordan Yoder (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) had a match-high 11 in her first career start at libero to go with a team-high-tying two aces.
Rian Owens (Neshannock, Pa./Neshannock) added nine digs, a match-best 19 assists and tied with Yoder for the team high in aces.
Addi Vagi (Marysville, Mich./Marysville) had seven digs and 17 helpers.
The Cats hit .225 and held the Blue Devils to .157. Thiel had 8.5 blocks to Fredonia's four.
Match 2: Thiel 1, Muskingum 3 (19-25, 25-23, 15-25, 16-25)
Match two came down to tip defense and serve receive for the Cats. The Muskies logged 11 service aces in the win to Thiel's zero.
Amory led the Tomcats with 10 kills, a block and two digs. Myers added eight kills and two blocks while DeLattre logged seven kills on .294 with two blocks.
Darno added four kills and a match-high-tying three blocks while
Isabella McCutcheon (Middleburg Heights, Ohio/Berea-Midpark) also tied for the match high with three blocks to go with three kills.
The Cats recorded 53 digs as Yoder had a match- and career-most 18. Owens notched her first career double-double with 11 digs and a team-high 20 assists. Byer made six digs and pitched in five kills.
Thiel was held to .111 hitting while Muskingum sat at .216.
Looking Ahead
Thiel is back in action tomorrow at 11 a.m. against Utica and 3 p.m. versus the host Lions to cap the Penn State Behrend Invitational.
