Volleyball player with a kill attempt with two blockers near the net

Tartans Open Year with 3-0 Victory Against Grove City

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University volleyball team opened play on Saturday, March 13 at home against Grove City College, defeating the Wolverines 3-0.

The Tartans came out with energy and twice made the Wolverines call timeout in the first set, which the home squad won, 25-12. The second set was close through the first 15 points before the Tartans widened the gap and eventually won 25-17. Grove City pressured the Tartans on numerous occasions in the third set, nearly pushing the match to a fourth, before the Cardinal and Gray won the decisive set, 29-27.

Juniors Erin Westberg (Cary, N.C. / Cardinal Gibbons) and Anna Cao (Princeton, N.J. / Princeton) both recorded nine kills with senior Diana Balta (Media, Pa. / Penncrest) putting down seven attack attempts for points. Sophomore Stella Yan (Coppell, Texas / Coppell) orchestrated the offense with 24 assists while freshman Michelle Deng (Calgary, Alberta / Western Canada) picked up five assists in one set played in her first collegiate action.

Senior libero Julia Kim (Centreville, Va. / Chantilly) collected 14 digs in two sets played while junior Liz Jankowski (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Oakland Catholic) played the libero position in the third set and collected 11 digs throughout the match.

Freshman Laura Reichard (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico / Saint John's School) played all around and picked up 20 digs to go with six kills.

The Tartans will next host Hiram College on Saturday, March 20 at 1:00 p.m.