NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Westminster College volleyball team lost, 3-2, in a non-conference thriller to No. 18 nationally ranked Carnegie Mellon University at home Saturday afternoon.
Westminster (23-4) was up 2-0, however, Carnegie Mellon (17-5) rallied winning three-straight sets.
The Titans were down 17-15 in the first set, before orchestrating a 6-0 run to take a commanding 21-17 lead and maintained it for a 25-22 win.
The Titans came out in set two like a team on a mission as they led 7-0 and then 10-1. Westminster had match point at 24-17, however, Carnegie Mellon rallied with seven-straight points to tie the set at 24. Senior
Reilly DeGeorge (Ashtabula, OH / Saint John) put the Titans up, 25-24, however Carnegie Mellon answered with a kill of its own, courtesy of Erika Foose. The Titans sealed the set victory (27-25) following back-to-back kills by DeGeorge and senior
Haley Farmerie (Manor, PA / Greensburg Central Catholic).
Looking to close out the upset, Westminster was up 13-12 in the third set. Carnegie Mellon pulled away with 11-straight points to win 25-19 and forced a fourth set. The fourth set was tied at 16, before the Tartans mustered a 7-1 run and led 23-17. The Titans answered with four-straight points, but Carnegie Mellon held on for a 25-21 set four victory.
In the fifth and match-deciding set, Carnegie Mellon started with a 5-1 lead, which proved too much for Westminster to overcome. Westminster got within two points of the Tartans' lead late, 11-9, however, Carnegie Mellon concluded the comeback with four unanswered points.
DeGeorge knocked down a match-high 17 kills, to go along with 30 digs. Also earning double-digit kills for Westminster were sophomores
Becky Adelman (Randolph, OH / Waterloo) (12) and
Maya Steward (Los Angeles, CA / William Howard Taft) (10). Steward also had 13 digs. Sophomore
Samantha Kelly (Irwin, PA / Penn-Trafford) dished out team-high 26 assists, to go along with 21 digs. Junior
Haley Moore (Greensburg, PA / Greensburg Central Catholic) added 17 assists and 14 digs. Senior
Josie Toporcer (Warren, OH / Lordstown) tied a match-high with 33 digs. First-year
Kaylee Sciubba (Tarentum, PA / Deer Lakes) added a team-high four blocks and seven kills.
Westminster is back in action Tuesday, Oct. 29 with a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) road contest at Bethany College at 7 p.m.
