LATROBE, Pa. – La Roche volleyball hit the road for the first time in 2024, travelling to St. Vincent. At the end of the night, the Redhawks pulled through, holding off a comeback attempt by the hosts, taking down the Bearcats in a five set thriller.
Set one was down to the wire, as La Roche brought home a 25-22 victory to go up 1-0.
The Redhawks saw themselves fall behind early, 6-3, after a 6-1 St. Vincent run, following it up with a 4-1 run to even the set at 7-7.
A few points later, trailing by just one at 10-9, the red and black struck with a 6-2 run to open a 15-12 edge.
The lead would never be relinquished, despite the Bearcats coming within one point on multiple occasions, as La Roche sealed the victory.
Set two saw the exact same final score of 25-22, but this time the Redhawks held the early edge at 5-4.
St. Vincent would counter with a 6-2 run to take a four-point, 10-6 lead.
A battle of runs ensued, as La Roche scored eight of 11 to regain the lead at 14-13, but the counter by the Bearcats was seven of the next nine points to reopen a 20-16 lead.
Facing another four-point deficit, the Redhawks dominated the final stretch of set two, scoring nine of the final 11 points, behind four kills and three service aces by Megan Bologna to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Set three again saw La Roche force the issue early, holding a four-point lead at 9-5, after opening the set up 5-1.
St. Vincent found a groove trailing 11-9, scoring seven of nine points to take a three-point edge of its own.
The red and black fought back to even the set at 17-17, then the two teams countered with a pair of points each, then one point each to stay even at 20-20. However, the Bearcats took the final five points to win 25-20.
Set four was even through the early stage, as the score sat 13-11 in favor of the hosts after 24 points.
St. Vincent added to that lead, upping the score to 19-13, but the Redhawks fought back within two to trail just 19-17.
The Bearcats wouldn't allow it to come any closer, forcing a deciding fifth set with six of the final seven points to win 25-18.
In the tiebreak set, La Roche saw itself trailing early, 4-1, in the first to 15, win by two points finale.
The Redhawks had a huge response, scoring five of the next six to take a 6-5 lead, thanks to a trio of Bearcat attack errors.
The lead was short lived as St. Vincent rattled off a 5-0 run to reopen a four-point lead at 10-6.
There was no fret from the red and black, pressing the Bearcats and using a 7-2 run to go back ahead 13-12.
The next two points went in favor of the host, putting La Roche a point away from defeat.
Kylie Fehlman pulled through with a kill to send the game into overtime, matching the score at 14-14.
With the help of three St. Vincent attack errors, the Redhawks were able to shut the door on the 3-2 win, taking down the Bearcats 17-15 to close the night.
Fehlman ended the night with a match-high 16 kills, hitting a strong .323 throughout the game. Kalli Grine followed with 15 kills and a .314 hitting percentage, while Audrey Work chipped in seven kills.
Four players hit double digits in digs, including Mackenzie Kerkan's game-high 34, Brooke Bednarski picked up 14 to go alongside 41 assists, earning her second double-double of the year, Bologna added 11 digs and Makenna Woods reeled in 10.
Quinn Hughes was the leader blocking, picking up four on the net, alongside Fehlman, while Grine and Bologna each had three.
The road trip continues with neutral site action on Saturday, Sept. 21 as the Redhawks head to Grove City for matchups against RIT and Thiel at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. respectively.