Scots Ready for Regular Dual- and Tri-Match Action

Heather Wolff

Having played in tournaments the first three weekends, The College of Wooster volleyball team will now focus on dual- and tri-matches the rest of the way, including four opponents this week. First, Wooster will play it second North Coast Athletic Conference contest of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at Allegheny College (7-4, 1-0 NCAC) at 7 p.m. Then, the Fighting Scots are at home for three matches this weekend, starting with Earlham College (6-6, 0-0 NCAC) Friday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m. Wooster will be right back in action Saturday, Sept. 22, hosting a tri-match against Mt. Union College (15-1) and Wittenberg University (14-0, 2-0 NCAC), which is ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Div. III coaches’ poll. The first match on the floor at Timken Gymnasium Saturday will be Wittenberg-Wooster at 11 a.m., followed by Mt. Union-Wittenberg at 1 p.m. and Mt. Union-Wooster at 3 p.m. Last fall, the Scots split the conference season series with Allegheny and cruised past Earlham in three games during both meetings, while Wittenberg swept them each time.

Last Week: Wooster went 2-3, moving its overall record to 4-9.

On Sept. 12, the Scots hung tough with No. 23 ranked Hiram College for four games before the Terriers escaped with a 28-30, 30-26, 30-26, 30-22 victory. KateLynn Riley (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) was Wooster’s lone hitter with double-digit kills (16), while setter Heather Wolff (Mansfield, Ohio / Madison Comprehensive) passed out 38 assists. Defensively, Ali Drushal (Lakeville, Ohio / West Holmes) racked up 35 digs and Riley registered three total blocks.

On Sept. 14-15, the Scots split four matches at the Volley Against Violence Westminster Invitational in New Wilmington, Pa. On Friday, Wooster helped kicked off the tourney with a sweep, topping host Westminster College 30-23, 30-26, 30-28. Late that night, the Scots squared off versus Muskingum College for the second weekend in a row, and again the Muskies prevailed, this time in three games (30-20, 30-22, 30-25). Saturday saw Wooster lose a tough four-gamer versus Penn State Behrend (26-30, 30-26, 30-28, 30-22) before overcoming Oberlin College in five games (26-30, 30-21, 27-30, 30-23, 16-14), capped by a service ace from freshman Amanda Gottesman (Santa Monica, Calif. / New Roads School). Leading the Scots was senior Erin Wright (Akron, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit) as she earned all-tournament honors after combining for 45 kills and 10 blocks. Also noteworthy, junior Abbie Casey (Prospect, Ohio / Marion Pleasant) gave Wooster a boost, tallying 25 kills, 13 service aces, and 38 digs, and Drushal dug out 98 balls.