GREENVILLE, Pa. - September 21, 2021 - Chatham Volleyball traveled to Thiel College for their third PAC contest of the season. The Cougars polished off the Tomcats with a final score of 3-1, winning two straight sets to end the game.
Thiel proved to be a formidable opponent for Chatham in the beginning, with both teams going point-for point throughout the first set. Chatham was led by senior Emily Richie, who was responsible for four kills of Chatham's first five points. Junior Rylee Ritko, graduate Macy King, and first-year Kaley Davis would also contribute with several kills each. With the score at 24-23 Thiel, Davis, Richie, and Ritko would secure the final three points to bury the Tomcats in set one.
Chatham fell behind early in set two with runs of only three points at a time. Ritko, King, Davis, and Richie continued to contribute to the visitor offense, joined by junior Shaelah Pepperman. The Cougars would eventually fall 25-19, but bounced back from the loss right away.
The Cougars had several multi-point runs in set three thanks to hard-to-handle serves by sophomores Meghan Dominek and Paige Bogozi. Pepperman, King, Ritko, and Richie were back for more as well, overwhelming the Thiel defense. After having to come back from several point deficits, the Tomcats and Cougars were tied at 24 before Emily Richie's two straight kills.
The fourth and final set was Chatham's from the start, as they pulled ahead just three serves in. Bogozi registered several early kills which were reinforced by multiple points from both Ritko and Richie. The Cougar defense of sophomore Amelia Bogovich, Meghan Dominek, Shaelah Pepperman, and Baileigh Horan kept the Tomcats from scoring during Chatham's final five-point run to officially claim the PAC win from Thiel.
Emily Richie and Rylee Ritko combined for 39 of the team's 54 kills on the night (19 and 20 respectively), with Macy King adding seven and both Kaley Davis and Paige Bogozi tallying four.
Shaelah Pepperman raked in a season-high 49 assists and also tallied 18 digs. Meghan Dominek totaled a team-high 28 digs, followed by Ritko with 18, Bogozi with 13, and Davis with 10.
The Cougars return home on Thursday, September 23rd for another PAC matchup against Franciscan University at 7 PM.
