Delaware, Ohio – The No. 20 Transylvania volleyball team endured a pair of four-set defeats to the Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops and the University of Mount Union Raiders on Friday at Branch Rickey Arena.
Competing in the first day of the two-day Bishop Invitational hosted by Ohio Wesleyan, the Pioneers dropped to 6-5 overall after seeing the best efforts from both the Bishops and the Raiders.
In Friday's opener, Transylvania bounced back from a 25-20 set one loss to the Bishops to take a 25-19 second set victory. But the Bishops squeezed out a 25-23 win in set three before capturing the fourth set, 25-19 to hand the Pioneers the defeat. Ohio Wesleyan used a strong 14-kill output and a .265 team attacking percentage in the first set to establish the tone for Friday's result.
Transylvania outpaced Ohio Wesleyan in kills, 53 to 48, but committed 11 more errors along the way to give the host Bishops an efficiency advantage. Cate Scheper led the Pioneers in the opener with 15 kills while Kaetlin Ethington (11) and Karrington Jackson (10) also displayed double-digit firepower in the kills department. Grace Ward dished out a match-high 45 assists while Sylvie Miller paced all players with 24 digs.
Transylvania's bounce back attempt in the nightcap was denied by the blustering Raiders, who swaggered boisterously to a pair of 25-18, 25-21 wins in the first two sets. Transylvania tried to swing momentum back in its favor with a gritty 25-22 third-set victory. The Pioneers battled their way to a 10-4 lead and withstood an ensuing 6-0 response from Mount Union to craft a 17-13 lead behind a steady front line attack propelled by Scheper and Kaetlin Ethington. Ava Beltsos provided a key ace down the stretch to secure the third set victory for the Pioneers.
Mount Union rose to the occasion in the fourth set, amassing 16 kills to just three errors for a .333 attacking percentage. Transylvania's offensive efficiency was also its best of the night as the Pioneers rang up 15 kills to three errors in the final set. The Pioneers battled from behind for most of the set before pulling within a point at 21-20 following a kill by Madi Davis. However, Mount Union closed the door with a bold 4-1 run to secure the win against the Pioneers.
Scheper was again the kills leader in the nightcap with 12 finishers while Ward tallied another 44 assists. Davis had a season-high nine kills and was matched by Ethington in that category.
The Pioneers will look for redemption beginning tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. against the Kenyon College Ladies at Branch Rickey Arena and conclude their run in Delaware with a 2:00 p.m. match versus the Otterbein University Cardinals.
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