PITTSBURGH, Pa. – In front of a filled-to-capacity Athletic & Fitness Center crowd, Chatham Women's Volleyball (10-3, 5-1 PAC) continued its impressive start to conference play with a 3-1 (25-22, 26-28, 25-21, 25-13) homecoming match victory over Allegheny (9-8, 3-3) on Saturday afternoon.
 
With the opening set knotted at 7, the Cougars took five consecutive points from the Gators. An ace from Vanessa Mleczko put Chatham up 15-8, and the Cougars held the lead until Becca Gesner finished off the set with a kill. Chatham jumped out to an 11-3 advantage in set two and looked to be in control of the match. That's when the Gators kicked it into gear, clawing back to eventually lead 23-20 and taking the set on three straight kills. The teams battled out a tight third frame, with the Cougars getting the edge via a four-point run to lead 22-17. Evelyn White's kill would close the set win and match lead for Chatham, which would use a 7-point run with three Gesner kills in the fourth set to go up 17-8. Two more kills by Gesner and two kills from Paige Watson put a bow on the Cougars' homecoming triumph.
 
Gesner led Chatham offensively with 12 kills on .289 hitting while also adding three blocks and an ace. White was efficient in the middle with nine kills on .346 hitting and four blocks. Watson added nine kills and four blocks, and Annika Solfronk also reached nine kills for the Cougars.
 
Delaney Schwind dished out a match-high 26 assists to go with 13 digs. Ava Plunkard added 13 assists and four blocks. Sierra Ricci anchored the defense with a match-best 27 digs, while Devyn Kelley added 14 digs and an ace.
 
Chatham totaled eight team blocks and outpaced Allegheny offensively, attacking .172 while holding the Gators to a .055 attack percentage. The Cougars also finished the match with five service aces, led by Mleczko's two.
 
Chatham Women's Volleyball returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 8, when they travel to Bethany's Hummel Fieldhouse for a 7 p.m. PAC matchup.