Volleyball Drops Three of Four at Mount St. Joseph’s Invitational

Sept. 9 - (CINCINNATI, Ohio) - Carnegie Mellon’s volleyball team took one of four matches at the Mount St. Joseph’s Invitational, a six team tournament held this weekend. The Tartans move to 3-6 overall.

On Friday night Carnegie Mellon swept Thomas Moore 3-0 (34-32, 30-24, 30-28) in a close fought match. Two Tartans, senior outside hitter Amanda Bradford (Chapel Hill, N.C./East Chapel Hill) and junior middle hitter Abbie Toney (Des Moines, Iowa/Johnston) posted double-digit kills; 12 by Toney, and 10 by Bradford, who also had 17 digs. Senior setter Bera Carlock (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) and freshman setter Samantha Carter (San Antonio, Texas/O'Connor) each recorded 17 assists in the victory.

Following the victory over the Saints, Carnegie Mellon battled with the number one team in the nation, the Juniata Eagles. The Tartans fought to consecutive 25-30 losses in the match’s first two game before dropping the final game to the Eagles 30-17, losing the match 3-0. Toney added nine more kills in the match as Carlock (8) and Carter (11) led the squad in assists. Freshman defensive specialist Cara Fatigati (McMurray, Pa. /Peters Township) and senior libero Kat Fox (Oklahoma City, Okla. /Casady) each contributed with 12 and 15 digs, respectively.

The tournament’s second day began with the Tartans taking on Whitman College and falling to the Missionaries 3-1. Carnegie Mellon lost the first two games (30-27, 30-24) before taking the third game 30-25. But Whitman fought back to take the match with a 30-25 victory in the fourth game. Senior Catie Fisher (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) led the squad with 22 kills while Toney had 13 kills with senior middle hitter Malena Yablinsky (Patton, Pa. /Cambria Heights) adding 12 kills of her own. Carlock (28) and Carter again (21) led the team in assists.

In their final match of the tournament, Carnegie Mellon drew Capital University and although they defeated the Crusaders in the opening game 30-27, the Tartans were beaten in games two through four (30-23, 30-24, 30-26) to drop their record to 3-6 on the season. Despite the loss, two Tartans capped their tournament play with outstanding individual efforts. Fisher again knocked out 22 kills, giving her 44 on the day, and Carlock dished out 57 assists against Capital to give her 110 over the two days.

Carnegie Mellon returns home to face St. Vincent’s College in a non-conference match up September 14 at 7:00 p.m.