Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College volleyball team split its first pair of matches at the La Roche College Invitational on Friday night. The Yeowomen fell to Washington and Jefferson in straight sets, but regrouped to down Alfred University 3-1.
 
In the win over the Saxons, it was sophomore Claudia Scott who led the way with 15 kills on 28 swings as she hit an impressive .357 for the match.
 
The Yeowomen cruised through the first two sets, winning 25-19 and 25-14. The Saxons staved off the sweep, winning the third game 25-18, but Oberlin prevailed 25-23 to take the match.
 
Dana Thomas added 10 kills in the triumph, while Ave Spencer chipped in with nine.
 
The Yeowomen set the tone early, opening up a 17-7 lead in the first set and never looked back. Oberlin started the second game on an 8-0 burst and after getting complacent in the third and early in the fourth they rallied all the way back from a 13-7 deficit to earn their first win of the season.
 
Oberlin dropped in eight aces in the match, led by three from first-year Sara Chang.
 
Meredith Leung, Molly Powers, and first-year Emily Kelkar each had 11 digs on the backline while the Oberlin frontline players totaled seven blocks.
 
The day started with a three-set loss to W&J as the Presidents got the best of the Yeowomen 25-18, 26-24 and 25-15.
 
Oberlin struggled to get into an offensive flow, hitting just .059 for the match with 26 attack errors.
 
Spencer led the way with nine kills, while Scott had seven en route to finishing with 21 on the night.
 
Leung still registered 32 assists to finish with 63 total in the two matches. Powers was busy along the backline with 23 digs.
 
Oberlin (1-2) will be back in action tomorrow with two more matches on the slate in Pittsburgh. The Yeowomen will take on Baldwin Wallace at 10 a.m. before tangling with the host Redhawks of La Roche at 1 p.m.