Scots at Earlham, Witt After Drushal’s Record-Setting Week

Ali Drushal

The College of Wooster, firmly planted in third-place in the North Coast Athletic Conference, will travel west for a two-match road swing this weekend in its lone action. On Friday, Oct. 12, Wooster is set to take on seventh-place Earlham College (8-11, 2-5 NCAC) in Richmond, Ind., at 7 p.m. The Scots will be gunning for the season sweep, having already defeated Earlham 18-30, 30-28, 30-24, 30-25 on Sept. 21. Wooster will be back on the court Saturday, Oct. 13, at 1 p.m., in Springfield, Ohio, where it will take on Wittenberg University (23-0, 7-0 NCAC), which is leading the conference and ranked No. 2 in this week’s NCAA Div. III coaches’ poll. Wittenberg swept past the Scots earlier this fall (Sept. 22) by counts of 30-14, 30-25, 31-29.

Last Week: Wooster won three of four matches, upping its record to 10-12 overall and 5-3 in the NCAC.

On Oct. 2, junior libero Ali Drushal (Lakeville, Ohio / West Holmes) set an NCAA Div. III record for digs in a four-game match with 56, leading the Scots to a 30-20, 23-30, 30-27, 32-30 decision over visiting Ohio Wesleyan University. Drushal’s mark eclipsed the former national record by one, as Montclair State University’s Lauren Mazurkiewicz dug out 55 balls against Vassar College on Sept. 12, 1997. In addition to Drushal, sophomore KateLynn Riley (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) posted a big night with a team season-high of 23 kills, compared to just one error, in 42 attempts for a .524 hitting percentage. Seniors Erin Wright (Akron, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit) and Carolyn Ciriegio (Covington, Ohio / Covington) contributed 13 and 11 kills, respectively, while senior setter Heather Wolff (Mansfield, Ohio / Madison Comprehensive) passed out 55 assists.

On Oct. 5, host and No. 25 ranked Hiram College was too much for Wooster, as the Terriers won in three (30-26, 30-20, 30-24). Ciriegio was the Scots’ lone hitter to reach double-digit kills with 13, while also of note, Wolff recorded 29 assists and Drushal 25 digs.   

On Oct. 6, Wooster hosted and won both ends of a challenging tri-match, first getting past conference foe Denison University in four (30-23, 30-28, 34-36, 30-21) and then taking down Heidelberg College in five (16-30, 30-28, 24-30, 30-18, 15-10). Both opponents had entered the day with winning records, including Heidelberg at 18-4. On the day, Riley combined for 32 kills, including 20 in the Denison match. Wright also had 20 against the Big Red, while Ciriegio totaled 27 in the two matches, highlighted by 18 against Heidelberg. Wolff nearly posted a triple-double in each match, recording 10 kills, 59 assists, and seven digs versus Denison and 11 kills, 45 assists, and eight digs versus the ‘Berg. Drushal continued to be the standout defensively, averaging 8.66 digs over the two matches to boost her season average to 8.04.

NCAC Player of the Week: For her efforts (see above), Wooster’s Ali Drushal (Lakeville, Ohio / West Holmes) was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week for volleyball.