TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The 2024 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Women's Volleyball Tournament Championship Game will feature the top two seeds after No. 1 Allegheny College and No. 2 Saint Vincent College posted victories in the tournament semifinals on their home floors Thursday night.

The top-seeded Gators (25-5) swept visiting fourth-seed Westminster College 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-18), while the second-seeded Bearcats (15-11) earned a 3-1 (25-21, 18-25, 25-16, 25-19) victory over No. 3 Chatham University. The championship match, which is the first trip to the tournament final for either program, is set for Saturday at Allegheny's Wise Center, with first serve scheduled for 6 pm. The PAC Sports Network will have coverage of the Saturday evening final.

In Allegheny's victory, the opening set was even at 8-8 before a run of six straight points by the Gators gave the home team control. Sophomore Angelee Bawek (Goodyear, Ariz./Estrella Foothills) had two kills to fuel that run and posted five in the opening set, including the final point in a 25-20 victory.

Another big Gator surge around the same point in the second set would help propel Allegheny to a 2-0 lead. Westminster led 9-8 following a kill from junior Jamie Robertson (Los Angeles, Calif./Palisades Charter) but the Gators responded with six points in a row as part of a 9-2 run. Bawek helped key that push as well with three kills, while sophomore Skylar Fatola (Queen Creek, Ariz./Eastmark) put two away. The Titans managed to get within three at 21-18, but another Bawek kill ignited a 4-1 run to close out the 25-19 win and leave the Gators one set away from advancing. 

The third set continued the same trend, with an Allegheny surge midway through proving to be the difference. This time, Westminster led 11-9 following a kill by sophomore Liv Trent (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood). The Gators' response in this set was a 13-2 blitz, again spearheaded by Bawek with five kills, to build a 22-13 lead. The Titans made a late charge, but Allegheny clinched their spot in the final on a kill by freshman Carlee Pepperman (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte Area) for the 25-18 match-clinching win.

Bawek led all hitters in the match with 16 kills and added 10 digs for a double-double, while senior Dagney Javes (Frederick, Colo./Dawson School) put away seven kills. Setters Izzy Gray (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) and Meagan Robare (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) passed out 16 and 14 assists, respectively, and Robare added a team-high three aces. Defensively, junior libero Jacy Diaz (Barranquitas, Puerto Rico/Gallatin (Tenn.)) brought up 18 digs and the Gators had a strong night at the net, totaling nine blocks, including five assisted by Fatola. 

For Westminster (20-15), junior Rachel Brady (Columbus, Pa./Corry) posted a team-leading 10 kills, freshman Morgan O'Brien (Pittsburgh, Pa./Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) finished with 18 assists and freshman Brooke Gecina (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) collected 23 digs.

The opening set in Latrobe saw Saint Vincent use a late rally to take the lead. Four kills from sophomore Becca Gesner (San Diego, Calif./Valley Center) helped lift Chatham to a 19-16 lead, but the Bearcats mounted a comeback. Senior Lauren Fox (Hinckley, Ohio/Highland) had two kills and a block to highlight a 9-2 run to close the set, which was capped with a kill from senior Kaelyn Staples-Klasnic (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Cuyahoga Falls) for a 25-21 SVC victory.

Set two was tied at 14-14 when Chatham grabbed control. Gesner played a big role, putting away three kills and serving two aces in a 12-3 Cougar run that led to a 25-18 set win to even the match at 1-1. The Bearcats answered by dominating the third set from start to finish. Chatham miscues played a big role, with 14 errors in the set by the Cougars. But Staples-Klasnic had three kills, one block and one ace and freshman Meegan Williams (Homer City, Pa./Homer-Center) also had an ace and three kills, including the final point in a decisive 25-16 Saint Vincent set win.

In the fourth, a 13-13 tie was broken by consecutive kills by Staples-Klasnic in a quick four-point burst that gave SVC the lead for good. Another four-point surge would put the Bearcats on the brink of the win and their big hitters on the night, Fox and Staples-Klasnic, put away the final two points in the set to advance Saint Vincent into the championship match Saturday night.

Saint Vincent's attack was paced by Staples-Klasnic with 13 kills, while Fox hit .414 with 12 kills and zero errors and freshman Dakota Hershberger (Belleville, Pa./Mifflin County) totaled 10 kills. Staples-Klasnic recorded a double-double with 14 digs to go with her 13 kills, while senior setter Vivian Poach (Washington, Pa./Trinity) also had a double-double with 36 assists and 17 digs. The SVC backrow was led by senior Stacie Ramos (Chula Vista, Calif./Olympian) with 31 digs.

A pair of Chatham (12-13) players posted double-doubles in the setback, including Gesner with 15 kills and 13 digs and senior Alyssa Leskovac (Youngstown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch) with 11 kills and 28 digs. Senior setter Natalie Keough (Alexandria, Va./Alexandria City) finished the night with 41 assists and bringing up a match-high 36 digs was junior Sierra Ricci (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler).

The winner of Saturday's match between Allegheny and Saint Vincent will be a first-time conference champion, the first since Geneva won their initial PAC crown in 2011. Thursday was Saint Vincent's third appearance in the conference semifinals and first since 2019 and both previous times, the Bearcats were eliminated one game short of the final. Now in their third year back in the PAC, Allegheny will also be in the PAC Championship game for the first time and as a program, it will be their first conference championship appearance since playing for the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) title in 1994. 

The teams played one time in the regular season, also on Allegheny's home floor and won by the Gators 3-1. The teams split the first two sets before Allegheny won the final two, including by a 25-13 count in the fourth. The Bearcats' top performers that day included Fox and Staples-Klasnic with nine kills each and Poach had a double-double with 26 assists and 17 digs. The two main cogs in the Allegheny attack had big efforts in the win, with Bawek hitting .227 with 16 kills and Javes matching her with 16 kills while hitting .224. Diaz led both teams in digs with 37.