(BOWLING GREEN, Ky.) – The Thomas More University women's volleyball team concluded their 2022 season Thursday night in Bowling Green in the Mid-South Conference Tournament Quarterfinals. They fell to the Bethel University Wildcats in a close 3-2 match (25-21, 21-25, 26-24, 19-25, 15-12).
The Wildcats led 17-12 in set one before the Saints began to try and mount a comeback. A 7-3 flurry put them within one at 20-19 and forced a Bethel timeout. Kills from
Ally Albrinck,
Sawyer Lorentz, and
Sydney Hilderbran coupled with Wildcat errors fueled the surge. However, Bethel picked it up out of the break and would win the set 25-21.
Thomas More trailed 7-6 in the second set before a 12-4 run put them ahead 18-11. Hilderbran had a trio of kills during this stretch. The Saints would lead 24-13 before a furious Bethel rally had the Saints on their heels. An 8-0 run pushed it to 24-21 and forced both Thomas More timeouts, but an Albrinck kill sealed the set.
The third set was back and forth and eventually tied up at 24-24 after the Saints held a two-point lead as late as 22-20. An
Emily Acito kept the set alive to make it 24-24 after a Thomas More timeout, but two straight kills gave the Wildcats the 2-1 lead.
The Saints held a steady lead throughout the fourth set, leading by as many as six. However, at 21-15, Bethel made it interesting with four straight kills to push it to 21-19. Thomas More would answer with their own 4-0 rally to win the set and send it to a final set five.
The last set was dominated by Bethel early as they lead 6-1. The Saints kept fighting but couldn't get over the hump and tie the set. They trailed 6-4, 8-6, 10-8, and finally 13-12, but it wasn't enough as Bethel snatched the victory.
- In their final collegiate match, both Lorentz and Albrinck played extremely well. Sawyer and Ally both had 12 kills each while Sawyer posted the second-best mark of her season at .579 and Ally posted her third-best at .407.
- Hilderbran led the team with 13 kills, while Jess Gearries was also in double-digits with 10.
- Sam McClanahan had 43 assists to finish her season with 1,045, the ninth-best single-season mark in program history.
- Asia Ferrando had 14 digs and finished with 566 this season, the tenth-best single-season mark in program history.
Thomas More ends the season with a 17-12 overall record and will return to action next season in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
