Langston Hood
Sports Editor
On Saturday, Oct. 23, the Fighting Scots volleyball team celebrated their senior day with two games against the Hiram Terriers and the Penn State-Behrend Lions. Seniors Seven Townsel ’22, Syd Case ’22, Brooke Swain ’22 and Katie Billetdeaux ’22 were honored prior to the game against the Terriers. The NCAC matchup with the Terriers was a dog fight; coming into the matchup, both Wooster and Hiram were battling for the fourth seed in the upcoming NCAC tournament. Despite the grit and tenacity that Wooster exhibited after battling back to 2-2 after dropping the first two sets, Hiram was victorious in the first of Wooster’s two games.
In the second game of the afternoon, Wooster appeared to still be riding their momentum from their late run in the first game. The Fighting Scots jumped out to a 1-0 lead after winning the first set 25-18 as a service error and a Hayley Nash ’23 kill gave the Scots the upper hand to begin the second game of the afternoon. Nash has been an integral part of the team since her first year and she had the following to say about the match, “As a team we played hard and with a lot of energy! We knew that we wanted to finish in three sets and end home games with a win!” Neither team attacked efficiently in the first set as Wooster’s kill percentage just edged that of Penn State-Behrend, .188% to .133%, respectively. Both teams posted their least efficient attacking metrics within the first set.
The second set looked to be contentious from the start, however after both teams were knotted at 11, the Fighting Scots won three points in a row and proceeded to run away with the set. Emily Gail ’23 was a major contributor to the Scots’ success in the second set as she contributed six kills, including the final nail in Penn State-Berhend’s coffin to secure the second set victory. When asked about the game, Gail said that, “I think we all came together and pushed one another to play our best. We did what we had to do to beat Penn State Behrend and end their 14 game win streak.” The Scots would win the second set 25-19.
As the third set began, there was blood in the water and it was clear the Fighting Scots were eager to send the Lions back to Erie with a broken win streak and broken spirits. The set followed the pattern of the day as a series of surges led the set to a 4-4 tie, then Wooster went up by five thanks to a Katie Billetdeaux ’22 serving masterpiece. Billetdeaux played particularly well on her senior day, amassing nine kills, five digs and four blocks in the second game of the day. After the game Billetdeaux said, “The sweep against Penn State-Behrend was special not only because it was on Senior Day, but also because we ended their 14-match win streak. The team really came together to play hard, communicate and come away with another win.” Penn State-Behrend then came back and tied the game at 11-11 and then later at 16-16. From that point, the teams split points until Wooster was able to go on a commanding five point run to finish off the Lions.
The game looked to provide the team with momentum heading into the tail end of the season that will see Wooster take on Allegheny and Case Western Reserve before they make their way to the NCAC tournament. Wooster is on pace to record the program’s most wins since the 2016 season, just one of the many indicators of the team’s success this season. The Fighting Scots will be eager to prove themselves come tournament time and they should be one of the teams to watch as the tournament kicks off in the coming weeks.
The Scots will travel to Cleveland on Saturday, Oct. 30 to square off against Case Western Reserve in their regular season finale.