Allegheny Championship photo courtesy of Ed Malliard

MEADVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Behind 20 kills from sophomore Angelee Bawek (Goodyear, Ariz./Estrella Foothills), top-seeded Allegheny College finished off an undefeated season against conference opposition by scoring a 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-21) victory over No. 2 Saint Vincent College to win the 2024 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Women's Volleyball Tournament.

For the Gators (26-5), it's their first PAC title since rejoining the league in 2022 and their first conference championship since winning the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) in 1991. It also secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for Allegheny, with selections and pairings to be announced Monday afternoon.

In addition, the win gave Allegheny a 14-0 record against PAC teams this season. The Gators beat two PAC foes in non-conference play, went a perfect 10-0 against league programs during the regular season and then defeated Westminster and Saint Vincent to complete their unblemished PAC run. It's the first time a PAC team went undefeated against league teams since Westminster was 18-0 in the 2021 regular season before posting two wins to capture the conference title.

In Saturday's opening set, Allegheny pulled away throughout to win by a 25-14 margin. With the Gators leading 8-5, senior Dagney Javes (Frederick, Colo./Dawson School) had two kills and a block in a four-point run to increase the cushion to 12-5. Of Allegheny's final 13 points in the set, Bawek delivered kills for five of them, including the clinching point that gave the home team a 1-0 lead.

It looked like Allegheny would pull away to win the second set by a big margin as well when three kills by Javes and two from freshman Carlee Pepperman (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte Area) sparked an 8-1 run that gave the Gators a 9-4 lead. Saint Vincent (15-12) would roll back into the set though off the strength of a 10-1 surge, highlighted by two kills each from freshman Meegan Williams (Homer City, Pa./Homer-Center), senior Vivian Poach (Washington, Pa./Trinity) and junior Lauren Fox (Hinckley, Ohio/Highland), which evened the set at 20-20.

The Gators recovered from that however to score five of the final seven points. Javes had a kill and an ace during the run and Bawek had one of her five kills in the set, as Allegheny went on top 2-0 with a 25-22 decision.

The third set was Bawek's best of a big night for the Gator sophomore. The Bearcats took an early 9-6 lead, but Allegheny seized control with a 10-1 run, five coming off Bawek kills, to build a 16-10 advantage. Saint Vincent didn't go away, chipping away and a kill from Poach brought SVC within one at 22-21. That was the Bearcats' final point however, as Allegheny scored the final three. The last two came from a Javes' ace and Bawek's ninth kill of the set and 20th of the night completed the 25-21 win and the PAC-title winning sweep for the Gators.

Named the PAC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Bawek had a huge night, delivering her 20 kills while hitting .410 and also bringing up a career-high 21 digs. Javes turned in a solid game across the board as well with 11 kills while hitting .258 with a career-high six aces and three blocks, two solo. Also recording a double-double was sophomore Izzy Gray (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) with 15 assists and 10 digs.

In addition to Bawek, two other Gators were named to the All-Tournament Team, including junior libero Jacy Diaz (Barranquitas, Puerto Rico/Gallatin-Tenn.), who brought up a match-high 22 digs, and senior setter Meagan Robare (Moon Twp., Pa./Moon) after she passed out a game-high 24 assists.

Two Saint Vincent players were All-Tournament Team selections, including Poach, who finished with 20 assists and 12 digs in the title game, and Fox, who hit .200 with four kills on Saturday. Williams led the Bearcats in the championship with nine kills and hit .222.