Kaedyn Yonker
Contributing Writer
On Saturday Sept. 27, 200 fans filed into Kenyon College’s Tomsich Arena to watch the Wooster Fighting Scots face off against the Kenyon Owls in both teams’ opening North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) game. Kenyon would defeat Wooster in all 3 sets 25-23, 25-18 and 25-17.
Wooster opened with the first serve, but Kenyon managed to score 7 consecutive points against the Scots. Wooster then scored 4 points, putting themselves on the board. As the set continued, the Scots managed to get within 1 point of Kenyon’s lead (11-10). Catherine Muzilla ’28 was able to tie the game later on with an ace to place the score 22-22. The Scots and Owls continued trading off points until Kenyon pulled away with a pair of kills, ending the set at 25-23.
In the second set, both teams exchanged points with each other. This set started off closer than the previous period, as neither team could seem to pull ahead by more than 2 points. The Owls eventually managed to amass a 3-point streak against Wooster, placing the score 11-7. A few minutes later, Kenyon pulled off a 3-point run making it 16-10. After 2 kills by Izzy Cozzie ’26, the Scots reached their final score for the set at 18.
In the third and final set, both teams continued to trade points back and forth until Kenyon got a kill on Wooster and pulled away to 10-7. Later on, a Kenyon service error allowed for Wooster to chip away at Kenyon’s lead. In a late game rally, however, Kenyon pushed their score to 24 while Wooster trailed behind at 17. With 1 last kill, Kenyon denied Wooster any chance of winning the game.
With this loss, the Scots are 0-1 in conference play, but are still hopeful for a strong in-conference season. The next game is scheduled against Oberlin College on Oct. 3 before fall break begins. With Oberlin coming off a crushing defeat from DePauw University, the Fighting Scots have a strong opportunity to secure their first conference win and get much-needed momentum.
The Fighting Scots will seek their first NCAC win of the season against the Oberlin Yeowomen on Friday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at Timken Gymnasium. Go Scots!