Ward Tallies 3,000th Career Assist in Marymount Match

GLASSBORO, NJ -- Senior setter Caitlin Ward (Wantagh, NY/Holy Trinity), the school's all-time leader in assists, recorded her 3,000th career assist as Washington College split two matches against host Rowan and Marymount in non-conference volleyball action on Saturday afternoon at ESBY Gym. The Shorewomen swept the host Profs 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 27-25), before losing to the Saints 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-17). The Shorewomen are now 9-8 on the season.

Ward achieved her milestone assist on the first point of the second set versus Marymount on a kill by freshman outside hitter Jenny Lee (Wilmington, DE/Mount Pleasant).

In the first match of the day for Washington, the Shorewomen downed the host Profs in three close sets. The Shorewomen trailed 14-12 before netting the next four points to take the lead for good at 16-14. WC capped the four straight points on a service ace by freshman libero Kaitlin Rowan (Damascus, MD/Damascus). It concluded a run of three straight service aces by Rowan. Rowan also ended the set when she tallied a kill.

The Shorewomen trailed 20-18 in the second set before going on a set-closing 7-2 run to take a 2-0 lead. With the middle set tied at 22-22, sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Forget (River Vale, NJ/Pascack Valley) served three straight points to win the set. She served an ace on the set clinching point.

WC trailed 24-22 in the third set, but scored five of the last six points of the last set to seal the victory. The Profs tied the set at 25-25 following a service error by the Shorewomen, but a Profs' service error gave the Shorewomen a 26-25 lead. A Forget kill ended the match and gave WC its ninth triumph of the season.

For Washington, Forget led all players with 15 kills and Lee added 11 kills in the win. Rowan had 32 digs to lead all players and added four service aces to lead the squad. Ward handed out 34 assists, which was tops for the team.

For Rowan (6-9), Chelsea Bowman had 11 kills to lead the Profs, while Chrissy McKay handed out a team-best 27 assists. Casey Roselle and Katie Havlicek had 19 and 18 digs respectively for the home team. Sarah Betancourt led all players with five service aces in the match.

The second match for Washington against Marymount (9-8) started out well as the Shorewomen jumped out to a quick 13-5 lead in the opening set, before the Saints went on a 11-1 run to grab a 16-14 lead. After a service error by Marymount trimmed its lead to 16-15, the Saints regained the momentum and outscored WC 9-5 the rest of the set to win the first set 25-20.

In the middle set, Washington took a 17-16 lead following a Marymount attack error, but the Saints won the next five points to take a 21-17 lead and closed out the set on a Stephanie Bell kill.

The Saints jumped out to a 21-12 lead in the third set before the Shorewomen scored the next four points to cut the lead to 21-16 on a service ace by Ward. However, Marymount rallied to score four of the last five points to take the set and match. An assisted block by Christina Haley and Christina LaVigna ended the match and gave the Saints the three-set win.

For Marymount, Bell, Michelle McCormick and Kierra Nelson all had nine kills to lead a balanced attack. Melissa Warren had a match-best 29 assists, while Amanda Dunn netted 10 digs and chalked up five service aces to lead the Saints and all players.

For Washington, Lee tied for the match-high in kills with nine, with Ward dishing out a WC-best 18 assists.

The Shorewomen return to action on Tuesday, October 6, when they host Johns Hopkins for a 7:00 p.m. match in Centennial Conference action.