Women’s volleyball defeats Point Park 3–0
The women’s volleyball team extended its winning streak to three games last Wednesday with an impressive 3–0 victory against cross-city rivals Point Park University. The win raised the Tartans’ season record to 4–6.
The Tartans swept the Pioneers in three straight matches with scores of 30–26, 30–22, and 30–24. First-year outside hitter Caroline Size led the offensive charge with 18 kills. Also scoring in double digit kills was junior middle hitter Chisom Amaechi who had 10 in the match.
The first game would prove to be the most difficult as neither team would give ground. After giving up three quick points, the Tartans were able to settle down and bring the match to a dead heat. The score would volley back-and-forth for most of the match until the Tartans were finally able to close out the competition with a 30–26 victory.
“We had a lot of energy and we were really motivated by this game,” Amaechi said. “We really wanted to win. I think our energy helped us to win.”
The Tartans would carry that energy into the next game as they would jump out to an early 9–0 lead. Defensive specialist Cameron Griffin picked up five aces in the match to jumpstart the Tartans. The Pioneers would close the gap to within four points but the early offensive explosion by the Tartans proved to be too great an obstacle to overcome. The Tartans went on to win the match by a final score of 30–22.
“After the first game we kind of knew what they had and we adjusted to that,” Amaechi said. “After seeing what happened the first game we knew what we had to fix and we did that.”
The Tartans would not slow down in the third match as they would complete the sweep with a 30–24 victory.
“[The win] was very important,” Size said. “We had to prove that we could do it and then actually finish. We’ve been having a problem with that.”
Reigning University Athletic Association Player of the Week, sophomore setter Samantha Carter continued her impressive year posting 38 assists as well as six digs.
Cameron Griffin also helped the defense with a team-leading eight digs. The Tartans would combine for a team total of 14 blocks on the night. Amaechi led the team with five blocks of her own.
The Tartans plan on carrying this momentum on into a successful season. “Hopefully we’ll pick up more momentum,” Size said. “We kind of slowed down a little bit this game in the second match, but hopefully we will be able to pick it up even more.”
The Tartans continue their season at home with the Carnegie Mellon Crossover, which takes place this Friday and Saturday.
Over the two-day span, the Tartans are scheduled to face Otterbein College, Capital University, John Carroll University, and Muskingum College. The Tartans open the Crossover on Friday against Otterbein College, with the game scheduled to start at 6 p.m.