The Waynesburg University women’s volleyball team hosted Saint Vincent Tuesday, Sept. 26, evening for a Presidents’ Athletic Conference competition. Unfortunately for the Yellow Jackets, the Bearcats rolled comfortably to a 3-0 win at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.

Waynesburg kept the first set close early, trailing 12-10 until Saint Vincent rattled off eight straight points to take a 20-10 advantage. The Yellow Jackets were unable to rally back, dropping the first set 25-13.

The second set started in similar fashion, as the Yellow Jackets kept the score close, trading leads with the Bearcats until the score was 7-7. Saint Vincent again ran up eight straight points to take another commanding lead that they did not relinquish. The Bearcats took the second set by another score of 25-13.

Waynesburg made some adjustments heading into the third set as the team did not give up a big run like it had in the first two sets.

“Really it was us doing basic things—kind of repeating the same thing over and over again,” said head coach Stephanie Benkowksi.

Midway through the third set, the Yellow Jackets took a 12-11 lead after freshman outside hitter Hannah Colvin notched a kill off a set by sophomore setter Olivia Zuchelli. Waynesburg continued to battle, keeping the score close, trailing 18-16 late in the third, but the Yellow Jackets again fell just short, unable to get a final run going to avoid the sweep and losing the set 25-20.

One of the bright spots on the team for the night and the past few matches, according to Benkowski, has been junior defensive specialist Cassidy Guiser, who has taken on a different role this season.

“Cassidy is a rockstar. She is awesome,” said Benkowski. “She has, for us, taken on a role that she probably did not expect. She has bought into it and she has worked super hard in practice to get better at being an outside [hitter] for us and she does good. She really works hard and is successful at it.”

Guiser finished the match with the second most kills on the team with four, led the team in digs with 10 and had the lone ace for the Yellow Jackets on the evening.

Junior outside hitter Jordyn Wyllie led the team in kills on the night with seven, while Zuchelli led the team in assists with eight. Freshman setter Rachel Lemay added seven assists and sophomore defensive specialist Olivia Proper added nine digs.

One of the things that Benkowski has been the most impressed with for the season has been the growth and development of new players that are seeing significant time.

“They’re getting better and they have gotten better,” she said. “Hannah [Colvin] has gotten so much better as a middle for us even though she came as an outside and took on a role that she probably wasn’t expecting. But she has bought in and accepted that as her role—she’s done a great job. Rachel [Lemay], as a setter, has done a great job. We’re tweaking her here and there, but she’s working really hard. Grace [Hogue] has done a good job. My freshman, I’m very happy with—they’re working hard and they’re trying. I’m sure they’re frustrated with everything going on, but you can see improvements with them.”

Waynesburg will be back in action this Thursday, Sept. 28, at home as it hosts Mount Aloysius at 7 p.m. in a non-conference matchup.

“We’re going to have to play hard,” said Benkowski. “They’re a solid team coming in here on Thursday. We’re going to have to actually play an entire match and not pick and choose when we play. We’re going to go at them a little differently because its non-conference, but we have to get a win. We have to play hard, we have to try, we have to trust our teammates and then we can get a win.”