Julie Kendall
Sports Editor
The College of Wooster volleyball team was victorious in three out of four matches at last weekend’s Marcia French Memorial Invitational, earning the Fighting Scots second place out of 14 participating squads. The tournament was co-hosted by Case Western Reserve University and Baldwin Wallace University. It took place at both campuses in Cleveland, Ohio and Berea, Ohio.
The Scots found success early on, winning back-to-back matches on Friday night against Westminster College and Baldwin Wallace University with identical scores of 3-1.
They were paced on offense by outside hitter Paige Parker ’14, who recorded 20 kills and a .291 hitting percentage in the first outing, in which Wooster beat the Titans of Westminster (25-16, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21).
Parker’s success continued in the following match against the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets, in which she earned a career-high 23 kills and recorded a .340 hitting percentage. The Scots also won that match 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-13, 25-17), which also featured a standout offensive performance from Melissa Morgan ’13 (13 kills, .333 hitting percentage).
Kelley Johnson ’13 led the defense for both matches with 35 and 40 digs, respectively. Setter Autumn Berry ’14 contributed heavily with a total of 89 assists during the night.
The Scots’ only loss for the weekend came in Saturday’s matchup against an undefeated squad from Case Western Reserve University, who dropped Wooster in three sets (23-25, 22-25, 10-25).
The Fighting Scots struggled offensively, recording only 33 combined kills against 21 errors. The Spartans would go on to win the tournament.
The final contest against Buffalo College featured back-and-forth set wins for both teams, pushing the match into a fifth set. The Scots decisively put the Bengals to rest in the final set, taking the match 3-2 (25-14, 27-29, 25-20, 23-25, 15-9). The Scots got an offensive boost from Maggie Johnson ’16, who earned a game-high 10 kills.
Kelley Johnson once again starred on the defensive end, recording 43 digs. She was named to the All-Invitational team.
Also contributing to the Scots’ success in last weekend’s tournament was Erica Skillman ’14, who earned 39 kills over four games, and Morgan who amassed 32 kills.
Berry recorded 153 assists for the tournament. Zoe Zwegat ’14 totaled 10 blocks, while Devin Grandi ’13 contributed 72 digs and four service aces.
The Scots went on to be victorious in their home opener match against John Carroll University on Tuesday night, winning 3-1 against the Blue Streaks (24-26, 25-21, 25-22, 25-16). Skillman led the offense with 16 kills, while Parker contributed 11 kills in addition to 20 digs.
Wooster currently holds a 6-3 record. This weekend they travel to Pittsburgh, Pa. to participate in the Carnegie Mellon Invitational, where they will face teams from Elmira College, the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, the University of Scranton, and Johns Hopkins University.