By Natalie Hanna · Sports Editor
LORETTO — The Grove City College women’s volleyball team earned its fifth consecutive win on Saturday, defeating Saint Francis 3-1 (25-19, 25-27, 25-20, 25-15) and bringing its overall record to 13-3.
Senior Sarah Hart led the team offensively with nine kills. Senior Kendra Klusch followed with eight, and senior Alayna Dorst and junior Lilly Pool each chalked up six. Additionally, junior setter Brooke Manfull tallied 15 assists, with senior setter Sarah Harris contributing 10.
Manfull and Harris each had three aces, with Dorst adding two.
Third in the NCAA Division III in blocks per set, Grove City’s defense contributed greatly to the four-set victory. Twelve Wolverine blocks proved to be valuable in holding off the Red Wolves. Pool led the defensive effort with seven blocks, senior Lily Lagaras had six, Klusch recorded five and sophomore Taylor Ripple posted three.
The team’s block has been a huge strength throughout the season and continues to prove its worth match after match.
“Teams just can’t hit around our block,” Klusch said.
Also on the defensive front, the back row has been elevating Grove City’s play, especially thanks to the freshmen. In addition to junior Lilly Wojtala’s team-leading 15 digs, freshman Reagan Riordan contributed 10. Manfull and Dorst tallied eight and seven digs, respectively.
While Grove City’s offense and defense played important roles in securing the victory, another particularly crucial aspect of the match was the team’s ability to overcome the opponent’s serves. Following several aces in the first two sets, the Wolverines handled the serves effectively for the rest of the match.
“It was impressive to see the passers reset after a long run and take ownership of serve receive,” Klusch said.
Although the match does not count in conference standings because Saint Francis is a provisional member of NCAA Division III while transitioning from Division I, the match still proves what the Wolverines can accomplish as they transition into official PAC matchups.
Since beginning their PAC schedule and four consecutive home matches against Geneva Wednesday, the team continues to improve aspects of its game, including “picking up the deep ball to zone one,” according to Klusch.
The team also wants to “improve on adapting faster to teams because it usually takes us one or two sets to figure out how to be efficient against the other team,” Hart said.
As conference play continues, the Wolverines look to hold on to their strong overall record, currently the best in the PAC, and accumulate a solid record against PAC members.
“We are looking to go far this year, and it starts with a good PAC record. Coach recently talked about how our playoff mindset starts with doing our job and winning the PAC again,” Klusch said.
The team will face its second official conference rival, Waynesburg, at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Grove City College Arena.
“I think we should be able to dominate the match against Waynesburg if we control our side of the net and stay disciplined,” Hart said.
