ALLIANCE, Ohio – Chatham Women's Volleyball (1-1, 0-0 PAC) fell in straight sets (25-11, 25-20, 25-17) to Carnegie Mellon (2-0, 0-0 UAA) on Friday evening at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.
Carnegie Mellon opened the match by taking the first five points and later used a 6-0 run to build a 16-5 advantage. The Cougars continued to battle, with kills from
Maddy Roberts,
Becca Gesner,
Annelese Atkinson and
Evie White contributing to the Chatham attack, but Carnegie Mellon maintained control to take the opening set.
Chatham kept the second set close early, matching Carnegie Mellon point for point through a 3-3 tie. The Tartans created separation with three separate 3-0 runs, but the Cougars responded late. A
Kelly Dougherty service ace and an Atkinson kill helped Chatham claim three consecutive points and cut the deficit to 21-15. White then recorded back-to-back kills during another 3-0 run, and kills from
Vanessa Mleczko followed by her second ace of the match, brought the Cougars within 24-20 before Carnegie Mellon closed the set.
The Cougars produced their strongest start in the third frame, using a Mleczko ace and a Gesner block to take a 4-1 lead. Chatham remained in front at 10-7 and held a 12-10 advantage following kills from Mleczko and Roberts. After Carnegie Mellon moved ahead, the Cougars battled back to tie the set at 15-15, but the Tartans pulled away late to complete the sweep.
Gesner led Chatham with six kills and recorded the Cougars' lone block. Atkinson and Roberts each added five kills, while White finished with four kills on a team-best .333 hitting percentage.
Kate Giannetta dished out a team-high 15 assists. Roberts and Dougherty shared the team lead with eight digs apiece, and Mleczko recorded two of Chatham's four service aces.
Carnegie Mellon outhit Chatham .287 to .056 and held advantages of 34-27 in kills, 48-35 in digs and 10-4 in service aces.
The Cougars return to action tomorrow, Saturday, September 5th against Mount Union at 10 AM in Alliance, Ohio.
