By Christopher Shaw · Staff Writer
The Grove City College women’s volleyball team swept the Barons in its penultimate home match, continuing its Presidents’ Athletic Conference tear on Senior Day.
The Wolverines improved to a 6-1 conference record and, as of Tuesday, currently sit half a game behind the leading 7-1 Hiram Terriers.
Grove City fell behind late in the first set 21-18, but senior Kendra Klusch logged a block and kill to bring the set within one. Fellow senior Sarah Hart recorded four kills to complete the comeback, her last three assisted by junior Brooke Manfull, leading the Wolverines to a 25-23 first-set win.
The second set was highly contested with a maximum run of only four points. The squads were tied at 22 until Grove City mounted the final three points off kills by Klusch and fellow senior Alayna Dorst.
They continued to handle business in the third set, putting together successive runs of three, three and four points, giving the team a 21-14 advantage. The Barons tried to respond but could not climb out of the seven-point hole. Grove City won the final set 25-19.
The Wolverines doubled the Franciscan hitting percentage, 0.156 to 0.078, with Grove City’s seniors fittingly standing out. Hart led the team with 14 kills, and Dorst was second with 10. Klusch logged four blocks, and senior Lily Lagaras earned another. Senior Sarah Harris converted two service aces and tallied 12 assists. Dorst also led the team with 19 digs, tying her season high. Harris was second with 15.
“We were able to follow our game plan really well this game in limiting their outsides’ kills and playing effective defense,” Hart said. “I think everyone did their job really well, which contributed to our success.”
The five seniors were honored before the match. They have a large role on the team, logging 74 or more sets out of 80 opportunities. They support a small, three-person junior class and a large but quite inexperienced sophomore class. The top four squad leaders in kills are seniors, but of course, underclassmen will miss their experience and guidance.
“These seniors were a big component of building the Christ-centered culture we have today,” junior Lilly Pool said. “They are truly humble and exemplify this by being servant leaders on and off the court.”
Looking forward, the women have three PAC matches left on the schedule. The team will travel to sub-.500 Saint Vincent Saturday, and the final two contests will be challenging affairs against conference leader Hiram and No. 3 Chatham.
The Hiram match will be the final home game and will take place Nov. 4. The PAC bracket has eight spots, so Grove City will have a comfortable seed in the playoffs assuming the team does not lose out.
Looking ahead to the national tournament, 64 teams qualify from 43 conference champions and the next 21 highest-rated “at large” schools. In the national statistical rankings, Grove City sits at No. 71 as of Oct. 25.
Although the Wolverines are outside the top 64, they are 87 places above the second-ranked PAC squad, Hiram. This statistic indicates Grove City is expected to repeat as conference champions based on the strength of its non-conference wins and earn an automatic qualifying spot.
“Our focus will be on playing our style and our speed, knowing that we are a good team and playing with joy each opportunity we get,” Pool said on the team’s focus for the remaining regular season games.
