NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Chatham Women's Volleyball (5-6, 1-2 PAC) won a tightly contested opening set on Saturday evening, but lost 3-1 (24-26, 25-16, 25-23, 25-18) to Westminster (11-7, 3-0 PAC) at Buzz Ridl Gymnasium.
The Cougars trailed 13-6 in the first set before gradually cutting into the deficit. A Maddy Roberts kill tied the frame at 19, and the teams continued trading points until Westminster moved ahead 24-22. Chatham responded by taking the final four points. Kills from Evie White and Zoie Bateman tied the score at 24 before Paige Watson recorded a block and a kill to secure the 26-24 set victory.
The second frame remained close through an 8-8 tie before Westminster used a 5-0 run to take a 13-8 advantage. Chatham answered with three straight points, including a block from Annelese Atkinson and White followed by a Roberts kill, to pull within 13-11. The Titans regained control from there and closed the set 25-16 to even the match.
Westminster scored the first three points of set three, but the Cougars responded and took a 14-8 lead behind kills from Becca Gesner, Kate Giannetta and Bateman along with multiple blocks at the net. The Titans then used a 10-2 run to move ahead 18-16. Chatham continued to battle and pulled within 24-23 on kills from Giannetta and Watson, but Westminster claimed the next point to take the match lead.
Chatham started the fourth set with five consecutive points and built an 8-2 advantage following kills from White, Giannetta and Watson. Westminster erased the lead with a 7-0 run that included three consecutive service aces. The Titans later extended their advantage to 18-11. Chatham cut the deficit to 22-17 with three straight points, including a Bateman block, but Westminster held on to close out the match.
Bateman led Chatham with 13 kills on .306 hitting and added three blocks. White recorded nine kills on .304 hitting and a match-high five blocks, while Gesner added nine kills and two blocks. Watson finished with seven kills on a team-best .375 hitting percentage and contributed three blocks.
Delaney Schwind dished out a team-high 21 assists and collected nine digs. Giannetta recorded 17 assists and 12 digs, while Kelly Dougherty led the Cougars with 21 digs.
Chatham outhit Westminster .201 to .188 and held an 11-3 advantage in blocks. The Titans held a 17-1 edge in service aces, which created the largest statistical difference in the match.
The Cougars return to action on Wednesday, October 7th when they travel to Bethany, WV to take on Bethany at 6PM
