CANTON, Ohio — The Edinboro women's volleyball team split a pair of matches on day two of the Hall of Fame City Classic starting with a decisive 3-0 victory against Roberts Wesleyan followed by a hard-fought five-set loss to Charleston.
In the match against Roberts Wesleyan, the Scots tallied 39 kills and seven service aces, completing the sweep with set scores of 25-15, 25-18, and 27-25.
In the first set, Edinboro grabbed a 4-0 lead capitalizing on a pair of Roberts Wesleyan errors and kills from
D'Aira Whitner and
Makayla Neelands. Neelands continued to drive the offense for the Scots tallying seven total kills as the Scots held on for the first set win 25-15.
In the second set, the Scots secured a 25-18 victory. Edinboro trailed 11-9 in the set, but four straight points from four different Fighting Scots put Edinboro back up 13-11. The Redhawks retook the lead with the next three points before a 7-1 run capped by a
Faith Schneider ace put Edinboro up for good.
In the third set, Edinboro rallied to secure a narrow 27-25 victory. With the score tied 20-20, Petro recorded a kill to put the Scots up 21-20. Roberts Wesleyan scored the next four points to pull ahead 24-21. After a Redhawk service error,
Maggie Koster posted back-to-back kills to knot the match at 24. The Scots retook the lead 25-24 after a Redhawk error. Roberts Wesleyan tied the game, but a block from Neelands and Koster and a
Reilly Parent kill closed the set and the match for the Scots.
Neelands led Edinboro with 12 kills and three blocks, while Parent added 11 kills with a hitting percentage of .409 and seven digs. Schneider excelled defensively, recording 16 digs and four service aces. Lockett contributed five total blocks to the team's defensive efforts.
Later in the day, Edinboro faced Charleston in a see-saw five-set contest. The Scots claimed the first set 26-24, propelled by a strong opening and closing push. They surged to an early 4-0 lead, capitalizing on Charleston's attack errors. The Golden Eagles pulled ahead 24-23 late, but a pair of attack errors and a
Taylor Pucky kill gave Edinboro the opening set win.
The second set saw Edinboro fall 25-22. The Scots held a 21-15 lead after a Charleston service error. The Golden Eagles reeled off eight straight points to pull ahead 24-21.Parent ended the run with a kill, but Divine Muo finished the set with a kill for the Golden Eagles.
In the third set, Edinboro bounced back with a 25-21 victory. The Scots trailed 13-12, but a Neelands service ace around several Charleston errors put Edinboro back on top 16-13. The Golden Eagles trimmed the lead to 22-21, before a 3-0 run capped by a Schneider service ace gave the set to the Scots.
Charleston leveled the match with a 25-19 fourth set win. The Scots held a 15-13 lead after a Neelands kill, but the Golden Eagles went on a 6-0 run to grab a 19-15 advantage. Edinboro closed the gap to 20-19 after a
Laney Burns kill, but Charleston claimed the fourth with five straight points.
Charleston opened the fifth set with a 7-0 run, and held off the Scots for the rest of the set to win the match with a 15-8 set victory.
Neelands played an integral role with 18 digs and 14 kills, finishing with a team-high 17.5 points.
Reilly Parent matched Neelands' effort with 14 kills and 12 digs for a total of 16.5 points.
Maggie Koster contributed significantly at the net, recording six total blocks and two service aces, while
Faith Schneider collected 15 digs and provided five assists.
The Scots will be back in action next Thursday at Texas A&M Kingsville the first of four games over three days at the Kingsville Invitational. Match time is slated for 6:30 p.m.
