BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's volleyball team lost an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup to the Muskingum University Muskies by a score of 2-3 (25-27, 26-24, 23-25, 25-23, 12-15) inside Ursprung Gymnasium in the Lou Higgins Center to fall to 16-5 and 3-2 in the OAC. This match featured resilience from both sides as they made every set a close battle.
Match Recap
Set 1 (MU, 27-25): The Yellow Jackets got on the board with a kill by freshman middle hitter
Morgan Petrecca, who made six kills during the extended opening set. The Muskies took a seven-point lead to make the score 20-13 before BW went on an 8-1 run to tie the score at 21-21. Petrecca had back-to-back kills to set up match point at 24-22. However, the Muskies responded with a 5-1 run to take set one.
Set 2 (BW, 26-24): BW had an early 6-0 run behind the sweet serving of sophomore defensive specialist
Morgan Kaylor. The Muskies had their own 6-0 run to make the score 17-16 and take the lead. The Yellow Jackets responded with a three-point run to regain the lead, and they held a lead the rest of the way.
Set 3 (MU, 25-23): The third set featured a match-high 13 ties and eight lead changes. After Muskingum took a 19-16 lead, BW responded with a 7-1 run to take hold of a 23-20. However, Muskingum bounced back with a 5-0 run to win the third set.
Set 4 (BW, 25-23): After losing the last five points of the third set, Muskingum started this set by winning the first 11 points. That means the Muskies scored 16 straight points. BW used both of their timeouts during that 11-0 run. The match kills leader
Lexi Smith stopped the bleeding with one of her 16 total kills tonight. A few rallies later, freshman defensive specialist
Libby Hubert got the ball at the baseline. She served through a 10-0 run to bring the Jackets within one. Hubert kept the Yellow Jackets alive with a career-best 39 digs throughout the match. This stretch included three kills from junior middle hitter
Josie Lynn and three from freshman outside hitter
Brenna Leach. The duo also combined for a block to give BW momentum. The Muskies snapped back in, and scoring went back-and-forth before the Yellow Jackets took their first lead at 20-19. BW never let go of the lead as they closed a remarkable effort with a victory and adrenaline going into the final set.
Set 5 (MU, 15-12): BW carried their energy into a 5-0 run to begin the set behind the serving of sophomore setter
Madison Kaylor. Muskingum then used their first timeout and went on a 3-0 run. The Muskies took their first lead at 11-10. They did not let BW gain another lead as they closed the set on a 4-1 run. Three points was the largest margin of victory in any set during the match. BW had only two kills and four attack errors this set to fall short in the end.
The Matchup
BW is now 12-9 against Muskingum since 2008 and has lost the last two matches. In the previous five matches, BW is 3-2.
Looking Ahead
The Yellow Jackets will face the No. 16 Otterbein University Cardinals on Friday, October 23 at 7 p.m. inside Ursprung Gymnasium in the Lou Higgins Center in Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
