TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Both Chatham University and Westminster College rallied from 2-1 deficits to pull out thrilling five-set victories in Tuesday's quarterfinals and advance in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Women's Volleyball Tournament.

With their 3-2 (25-15, 23-25, 9-25, 25-9, 15-12) victory over Thiel College, third-seeded Chatham (12-12) advances to play at No. 2 Saint Vincent College (14-11) Thursday in a semifinal at 7 pm in Latrobe. For fourth-seeded Westminster (20-14), their 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 17-25, 25-17, 15-12) victory over W&J sends them into a 7 pm semifinal Thursday at top-seeded Allegheny College (24-5).

Chatham grabbed the opening set with Thiel, using a 5-0 run to break a 10-10 tie and then sophomore Zoie Bateman (Evansville, Ind./F.J. Reitz) had three kills in the final seven Cougar points and served an ace to close out a 25-15 set victory. Despite Thiel delivering 14 kills through the second set, it remained close throughout. The score was tied at 23 when a pair of Chatham miscues, first a service error and then a hitting error, gave the Tomcats the final two points in a 25-23 win to even the match at 1-1.

The third and fourth sets saw wild swings both ways. Thiel claimed the third set, as they hit .320 with only one error while the Cougars had 11 hitting errors, which led to a 25-9 Tomcat set win. The fourth set was nearly the complete opposite, with Chatham hitting .471 with eight kills and zero errors and Thiel committing 11 hitting errors, as the Cougars won 25-9 to push the match to a fifth set.

The final set went down to the wire with four ties, the last coming at 10-10. The Cougars would put the match away and earn their spot in the next round by scoring five of the final seven points. Freshman Anna Solfronk (Frederick, Md./Urbana), who had four kills in the final set, delivered two of them in the last run and the game-winning point was put away by Bateman in the 15-12 win that clinched a spot in the semifinals for Chatham for the fourth consecutive year.  

Four players had eight or more kills for the Cougars, led by Bateman with 11, as she hit .320 on the night, while sophomore Becca Gesner (San Diego, Calif./Valley Center) finished with nine kills, 11 digs and a team-high three aces. Senior setter Natalie Keough (Alexandria, Va./Alexandria City) recorded a double-double with 37 assists and 11 digs, while also leading the team with four blocks. The Chatham backrow was paced by junior Sierra Ricci (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) with 34 digs and she added a team-high matching three aces.

For Thiel, junior Daisy Jenness (Pendleton, Ore./Pendleton) notched a double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs, while sophomore Arin DeLattre (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) put away 13 kills. Passing out 33 assists was junior Carlie Reynolds (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) and senior Erica Gregory (Clinton Township, Mich./Fraser) brought up a team-best 24 digs.

Chatham's semifinal match at Saint Vincent will be a rematch of their Oct. 30 regular season meeting, also in Latrobe. The Cougars won the opening set, but Saint Vincent responded by taking the next three to secure the win. Bateman led Chatham with a season-high 18 kills, but the Bearcats' Meegan Williams (Homer City, Pa./Homer-Center) hit .232 while recording 20 kills and 16 digs in the win.

In the quarterfinal match in New Wilmington, visiting W&J claimed the first set, as the Presidents hit .275 and used six kills from sophomore Sophie Little  (Marysville, Ohio/Fairbanks) to win 25-21. The second set was tight until an 8-2 run by Westminster allowed the Titans to pull away for a 25-17 win to even the match at 1-1. In the third set, W&J scored four straight to break an 11-11 tie and then two kills from sophomore Rian Benz (Strongsville, Ohio/Holy Name) and an ace from junior Piper McFarland (West Mifflin, Pa./Cornerstone Preparatory Academy) sparked a 6-1 surge to close the 25-17 set win and give the Presidents a 2-1 lead.

Westminster was also down 10-8 in the fourth set when two kills each from senior Ava Ferringer (Venus, Pa./Cranberry) and junior Jamie Robertson (Los Angeles, Calif./Palisades Charter) fueled a run of five straight point to turn the deficit into a 13-10 lead. The Titans finished the set off with a 7-2 run, which featured two kills by junior Shelby Rambo (East Palestine, Ohio/Crestview), two aces from junior Angie Nardone (Ellwood City, Pa./Lincoln) and a pair of kills from junior Rachel Brady (Columbus, Pa./Corry) to complete the 25-17 win and force a deciding fifth set.

The final set began with four Rambo blocks in a row in a 5-0 run. The Presidents chipped away to eventually draw even at 10-10, but the Titans ripped off four straight points, capped by a kill from sophomore Orlasia Hunter (Canton, Ohio/Saint Thomas Aquinas) and an ace from Robertson. W&J got two points back, but the match was clinched by a kill from sophomore Liv Trent (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood) to finish the 15-12 win and send Westminster into the semifinals for the first time since 2021, which was the last time the Titans won the PAC title.

Brady led a trio of Titans in double-digit kills with 16, while Rambo turned in a strong night, hitting .300 with 13 kills and adding six solo blocks and seven assisted blocks. Ferringer rounded out the top hitters with 11 kills. Helping set the table for the hitters was Nardone, who posted a 30-assist, 17-dig double-double, with her 30 assists being a career-high. Also turning in a big night was freshman libero Brooke Gecina (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) with 52 digs, which are the most in a five-set DIII match this season. 

The W&J stat line was highlighted by Little hitting .333 while posting a match-high 18 kills, while Benz registered a double-double with 15 kills and 17 digs. The defensive charges were led by McFarland with 34 digs.

Up next for the Titans is a match-up at Allegheny, who was 10-0 in the PAC during the regular season, which included a 3-1 victory at Westminster Oct. 30. Rambo and Ferringer had 11 kills each and Gecina totaled 25 digs, but Westminster was unable to overcome the Gators' two-headed attack of sophomore Angelee Bawek (Goodyear, Ariz./Estrella Foothills), who had 20 kills, and senior Dagney Javes (Frederick, Colo./Dawson School), who put away 17. 

Thursday's semifinal winners will meet on Saturday in the PAC Championship match at the highest remaining seed.