The Elizabethtown College volleyball team is riding a six-game winning streak after defeating Rowan University, Washington College and Arcadia University at the Arcadia Invitational Friday, Sept. 22 and Saturday, Sept. 23.
Friday night, the women had one game at 5 p.m. against Rowan. It was a quick match for the Jays, sweeping the Profs 25-18, 25-16 and 25-18.
Sophomore Elle Shatto finished the night with a game-high 13 kills. Junior Mackenzie Garner followed with 11, and also earned a team-high three blocks for the match. Junior Sarah Schneider also had 11 kills and contributed one assist and two digs.
The Jays were back on the court Saturday at 11 a.m. against Washington College. The team prevailed 26-24 after a tough first set. The Jays were down 20-17 as the set came to a close. Kills from Shatto, Schneider, Garner and senior Morgan Reiss put the Blue Jays up 24-23. WC tied the score twice, but a final ace from Schneider sealed the win for the Etown ladies.
The Blue Jays lost their first set in five matches in their final game of the weekend against tournament host Arcadia. The second-set loss, however, did not hold the Blue Jays back from their winning ways, taking the third and fourth sets for a 3-1 win.
Garner and Shatto contributed four kills each in the opening set to defeat the Knights 25-15. After a close match, the Jays fell 25-18 in the second set, but came back to win the third 25-21. A final 25-18 win improved Etown’s win streak to six.
Garner led the way for the Blue Jays, finishing with 15 kills and five blocks against the Knights. Schneider ended with 13 kills, one ace, two blocks and 12 digs. Shatto earned 12 kills, three aces, three assists and eight digs. Junior Gabby Anders and first-year Aiyana Tietze-Di Toro also did their part to bring home a win, Anders with 36 assists and Tietze-Di Toro with 22 digs.
“I think that the biggest factors that have contributed to our team’s success would be how well we connect on and off the court, along with our ability to trust each other,” Shatto said. “Our supportive coaching staff has also really helped to provide us with the tools we need to be successful as a team.”
The Blue Jays had another successful match Monday night, sweeping Dickinson College.
Etown crushed the first two sets, both ending 25-14 and still managed to take the final set 25-23 for a 3-0 win.
It was Garner again who led the team to victory with 21 kills and two blocks. Shatto had eight kills for the team and Schneider had six kills, six aces and one block.
The women are looking to extend their win streak further next weekend against Moravian College and Juniata College in a Landmark Conference Weekend. Shatto said she believes the team is ready to take on the competition next weekend.
“Over the past couple of weeks, we have been able to continue to push ourselves, improving our skills and have really come together as a team,” Shatto said.
“I think the most important thing in order for the team to be successful in the coming games would be for us to trust our technique and focus on doing the best that we can on our side of the court.” The Jays’ newly-improved winning streak is the longest since the 2012 volleyballs team’s nine-game streak.
The Blue Jays will host the Landmark Conference Weekend in Thompson Gym Saturday, Sept. 30 beginning at 12 p.m.
