Chloe Burdette
Sports Editor
The College of Wooster volleyball team entered this past weekend on a two-game winning streak after a stellar performance to defeat Franciscan University on Aug. 4. After a dominating performance in the Northwest Pennsylvania Challenge (PA) with opponents Penn State Behrend, Marietta, St. Vincent and D’Youville, the streak now stands at six. The Scots played 13 sets, won 12 and came away with four resounding wins.
Last Friday, the Fighting Scots’ first opponents were the Marietta Pioneers, who entered on a two game win streak and an overall record of three wins and two losses. The first set didn’t go Wooster’s way, as Marietta won 25-22. That would be the only set the Scots would lose that weekend. Rebounding nicely, Wooster took the next three by scores of 25-17, 25-18 and 25-13. Gabrielle Basinski ’19 aided the squad tremendously with 17 digs -— a match high score.
In their second match, Wooster rolled by a solid St. Vincent Spartans team in straight sets, winning by scores of 25-13, 25-17 and 25-21. Statistically, Wooster hit .351 on the match and provided no errors. The win put the Fighting Scots at a record of 5-2 on the year while St. Vincent dropped to 3-3.
Turning to Saturday, Wooster looked to build on their momentum while adding to their win streak, and the team came ready to dominate yet again. First up, D’Youville entered and exited the contest winless, offering little resistance as the Scots cruised to the victory with the scores of 25-8, 25-13 and 25-15. Wooster defeated any rhythm that the D’Youville Spartans could muster in the three matches, although they put together a strong late effort in the third match.
To wrap up the weekend in Pennsylvania, our volleyballers took on the host Penn State Behrend Lions. The Lions, a traditionally strong opponent and an NCAA tournament team from a year ago, would be a perfect early-season measuring stick game. In a hotly contested match, the Scots prevailed by scores of 25-17, 25-21 and 25-19 to go undefeated on the weekend.
The Scots have come out of the gates strong to start their season, but they are just getting started. Fighting Scot Bradlee Hartman ’21 spoke on the weekend and about what is in store for the rest of the season. “The team’s performance this weekend was such an amazing thing to be a part of. I think it really set the tone for the season,” Hartman explained. “It really showcased all the hard work and hustle that we’ve put into pre-season. Moving forward, we need to focus on serving tough and maintaining a competitive mentality throughout the match.”
Ashley Plassard ’19 also commented, saying “this weekend we dropped that first set coming straight off the bus, and we knew the next three were ours for the taking … we were the best team at that tournament. From our first game to our last game, our offense exploded and that had everything to do with our first and second contacts being so consistent.”
“We are excited for a full week of practice rather than a mid -week game this week to give us some time to recover because we do have some six rotation players that deserve a break,” said Plassard, on the team’s stamina.
Next up for the Fighting Scots, the team will play in Wooster for the Ginny Hunt Kilt Classic, a tournament named after the first volleyball coach at the College.
Hartman concluded by saying, “We are absolutely ready for the Ginny Hunt Kilt Classic this weekend. We are so pumped and excited to debut the amazing new gym and embrace the opportunity to play good competitive teams. Please come out and support this weekend! Roll Scots!”