Volleyball rallies past W&J, 3-2

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

WASHINGTON, Pa. (Oct. 4) – The Bethany College volleyball team rallied from behind to earn a 3-2 win (18-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-12) over Washington & Jefferson in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) match Wednesday night inside the Henry Memorial Gymnasium.

THE MATCHUP

• Final: Bethany 3, Washington & Jefferson 2 (18-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-12 | Box Score)
• Records: Bethany 13-7, 6-2 PAC | Washington & Jefferson 7-8, 5-5 PAC
• Location: Henry Memorial Gym | Washington, Pennsylvania

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Bison were held to negative hitting percentages in each of the first two sets and combined for only 14 kills, setting up W&J with a chance to close out a 3-0 win.
• Bethany led 15-14 in the third set, but three-straight points by the Presidents forced the Bison to call a timeout.
• The Green & White reclaimed the lead at 21-19, but W&J managed to even the score up once again.
• Bethany earned the next four points, including a pair of kills by sophomore Katie Sparks (Macedonia, Ohio/Trinity) that propelled the Bison to the set win.
• The Bison rolled out to a 13-5 lead in the fourth set and appeared poised to comfortably force a fifth set when they led 20-15 following a kill by Sparks.
• W&J managed to cut the Bethany lead to two, 23-21, but the Bison got a pair of kills from senior Sumayyah Muhammad (Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding) to close out the fourth set at 25-22 and force a decisive fifth set.
• The fifth set when back-and-forth, as Bethany raced out to a 5-1 lead, only to see the Presidents take a 6-5 lead.
• Bethany trailed 12-9, but closed out the match by winning the final six points. The Bison defense helped force three attack errors and sophomore Maggie Merren (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) clinched the comeback win with a service ace to end the evening.

MATCH NOTES

• Sparks and Muhammad each established new career-highs, as both finished with 20 kills in the win.
• Both were important on defense as well. Sparks tallied 16 digs for a double-double, while Muhammed added seven blocks and five service aces to her final line.
• Freshman Jenna Scott (New Castle, Ind./Liberty Christian) tossed around 49 assists, one-shy of a season-high, and added eight digs and six blocks on defense.
• Junior Reilly Parker (North Huntington, Pa./Norwin) led four Bison with double-digit digs, posting 32 in the win. Junior Keili Terry (Leesburg, Va./Saint John's) added a season-best 25, while Merren totalled 17 digs.

UP NEXT

• The Bison are at home on Friday, October 6 when they host Thiel for a PAC match that is a make-up from last week at 7 p.m.
• A live stream of the match will be available here.