TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - With victories on their home floors Tuesday night in the quarterfinal round, Allegheny College and Washington & Jefferson College advanced to the PAC Volleyball Tournament semifinals.

Third-seeded Allegheny rolled to a 3-1 victory (25-18, 25-21, 22-25, 25-19) over sixth seed Grove City College in Meadville, while the fourth-seed W&J was also a 3-1 winner (26-24, 17-25, 25-21, 25-21) over the five-seed, Westminster College.

The PAC Tournament semifinals are now set for Thursday, Nov. 9, with No. 1 seed Chatham University (17-5) hosting W&J at 7 pm, while Allegheny will travel to face No. 2 seed Bethany College (20-7) in a 7 pm match as well. Both higher seeds won the regular season meetings with their semifinal opponents. Chatham swept W&J 3-0 in the regular season finale Nov. 4th, while Bethany won the first meeting with Allegheny, 3-1, back on Oct. 19th in West Virginia

Tuesday's match at Allegheny saw the Gators (22-8) get out to a quick start, scoring the first five points. The lead would grow to as much as 10, as they captured the opening set, 25-18. The Wolverines (19-11) had an early lead in set two, but a 4-0 run by the Gators pushed them back in front and Allegheny kept that lead the rest of the way, taking the set 25-21.
 
Grove City controlled the pace early in the third set, scoring the first five points. The Gators kept chipping away at their deficit and would use a 4-0 run to take a 19-17 lead. However, the Wolverines closed the set with eight of the final 11 points, including a 4-0 run to close out a 25-22 win and extend the match.
 
Grove City scored three of the first four points in the fourth set before the Gators rolled off a 9-0 run to take control with a 10-3 lead. The margin grew to as much as 10 multiple times, as the Gators took the set 25-19 to advance to the semifinals with their first PAC volleyball tournament victory in school history.

Three Gators posted double-digit kills in the victory, including junior Dagney Javes (Frederick, Colo./Dawson School) with 17, freshman Angelee Bawek (Goodyear, Ariz./Estrella Foothills) with 16 and senior Emma Chambers (Stoutsville, Ohio/Amanda Clearcreek) with 10. Junior Meagan Robare (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) passed out 23 assists, while the back row efforts were led by sophomore Jacy Diaz (Barranquitas, Puerto Rico/Gallatin (Tenn.)) with a career-high 38 digs and Bawek chipped in with 15.

For Grove City, senior Eloise Sutter (Lebanon, Ohio/Mars Hill) posted 11 kills, junior setter Kennedy Kerr (East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) accumulated 20 assists and senior Grace Kim (Sanford, N.C./Harnett Warriors) totaled 28 digs.

The opening set of the W&J/Westminster quarterfinal had significant swings throughout. There were six runs of four points or more in the set, three by each team. Westminster (17-13) looked like it grabbed control with a 4-0 run to take a 24-21 lead, but W&J (14-13) had one more run. The Presidents fended off three match points and scored five straight to take a 1-0 lead with a 26-24 win.

The runs in the second set belonged to Westminster, who rolled off five straight early on to build a 10-4 cushion. W&J was able to get within two points during the set, but another five-point surge by the Titans gave them an eight-point lead and that margin would hold for a 25-17 set win that evened the match at 1-1.

The pivotal third set was tightly contested until the end. Tied at 19-19, W&J struck for four straight points to take the lead and would finish off a 25-21 win for a 2-1 lead. Needing a win in the fourth to keep the match going, Westminster built a 9-6 lead early and still led by three at 16-13 later in the set. W&J had an answer again, scoring five in a row and eight of the next nine points to go in front 21-17. The Titans managed to get within two but would move no closer, as consecutive kills for the final points gave the Presidents a 25-21 set win and a 3-1 match win for W&J's first PAC Tournament win at home since 2016.

Pacing the Presidents attack was freshman Kamryn Conners (St. Clairsville, Ohio/Wheeling Central Catholic) with 12 kills, while junior Jaden Blough (Meyersdale, Pa./Meyersdale) and freshman Sophie Little (Marysville, Ohio Fairbanks) had 10 apiece. Setting up the offense was freshman setter Brielle Moorhouse (East Liberty, Ohio/Benjamin Logan) with 24 assists. Defensively, Little led at the net with five blocks, while sophomore Piper McFarland (West Mifflin, Pa./Cornerstone Preparatory Academy) brought up 30 digs and added a team-leading three aces as well.

The Titans were paced by senior Reanna Daniels (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory), who dished out 19 assists and had seven digs, sophomore Angie Nardone (Ellwood  City, Pa./Ellwood City) had a 17-assist, 10-dig double-double and three service aces and senior Malia Duffy (Allison Park, Pa./North Allegheny) racked up 26 digs. Senior Natalie Franke (Centerville, Pa./Union City) hit .276 and had 10 kills as well.