GREENVILLE, Pa. – Chatham Women's Volleyball (15-7, 10-4 PAC) took a tightly contested first set at Thiel (16-6, 11-3) on Saturday afternoon, but ultimately would drop the match 3-1 (24-26, 28-26, 25-16, 25-22).
 
The Cougars took the early match lead despite trailing 15-8 in the opening frame. Four consecutive points on kills by Vanessa Mleczko helped Chatham get back into it before the Cougars won 5 of the final 6 points in the set. Set two was close throughout, and Chatham led 24-21 and 25-24, but the Tomcats stood strong and won 7 of 9 points to come back and take the set. Thiel carried that momentum into the third set, and after a couple Paige Watson kills got the Cougars within 7-6, Thiel's10-1 run put the set out of reach. Becca Gesner would have 5 kills in set four, but it would not be enough as the Tomcats closed out the match with a narrow set victory.
 
Gesner led Chatham with 13 kills, 3 aces and 4 blocks. Watson finished the match with 12 kills on .478 hitting and also had 4 blocks. Evelyn White recorded 11 kills with a .429 attacking percentage and 4 blocks. Sierra Ricci tallied a match-high 32 digs to anchor the defense. Delaney Schwind dished out a match-high 29 assists and served up a match-high 4 aces. Ava Plunkard recorded 19 assists and 4 blocks for the Cougars. Thiel's .223 hitting percentage to Chatham's .131 was a major difference in the match.
 
The Cougars are back home for their final two matches of the regular season, with the first on Wednesday against Bethany at 7 p.m.