(PORTSMOUTH, Ohio) – The Thomas More University women's volleyball team dropped their road contest Thursday night to the Shawnee State University Bears, 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-21). They fall to 14-9 overall and 7-2 in the Mid-South Conference.
The Saints found themselves down 10-3 early in the first set but worked back into it with an 8-1 run to tie things up at 11-11.
Jess Gearries had a pair of kills during the rally. It was back and forth until a 4-0 sprint by the Bears put them up 21-16. The Saints made one final push, using a pair of Gearries kills to cut it to one at 22-21 and force a Shawnee State timeout. The Bears would hold on out of the timeout though and go up 1-0.
After trailing 7-6 in the second set, Thomas More took the lead after a 9-1 run that was led by a trio of
Sydney Hilderbran kills, making it 15-8. Thomas More led 18-13, but a Bears timeout righted the ship as they used a 9-1 run of their own after the break and took a 22-19 lead. The Saints couldn't come back from it and would go down 2-0.
The final set was locked at 13-13 before a 5-0 flurry from Thomas More made it 18-13.
Ally Albrinck had a pair of kills to lead the charge. However, a Shawnee State timeout once again changed the momentum, as the Bears used a 7-0 run to take a 20-18 lead after the break. Thomas More couldn't answer and dropped the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
- Sophomore Asia Ferrando became the 10th Saint in program history Thursday night to record 1,000 digs in her career. She had a match-high 19 digs during the contest.
- Three other Saints in Delaney Needham (11), Sam McClanahan (10), and Kaitlyn Stivers (10) would also record double-digit digs.
- McClanahan had a match-high 28 assists to record her seventh double-double of the season.
- Sawyer Lorentz had six blocks during the match (one solo, five assists), which is her sixth match this season with five or more total blocks.
- Hilderbran and Gearries led the team with eight kills apiece.
Thomas More will return to the court Saturday afternoon at the University of Pikeville at 1:00 p.m. The Saints swept Pikeville at home on Sep. 17.
