LATROBE, Pa. - The Bethany College women's volleyball team competed at the first day of the 2026 Saint Vincent Bearcat Challenge hosted by Saint Vincent (Pa.) College where they fell to Penn State University-Behrend by a final score of 3-0 and to The College of Wooster (Ohio) by a final score of 3-1 in the Robert S. Carey Center.
Bethany (1-2) gave Penn State-Behrend (1-0) their first look of the season to open the Bearcat Challenge, but the Lions did not skip a beat and went on to win their season opener. The Bison then took the first set from Wooster (2-1) where they hit .231 as a team and continued to battle the Fighting Scots through the next three sets.
vs. Penn State-Behrend
- Sophomore Academic All-PAC libero Maddie Koprivec (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Northwest) led the Green and White defense with eight digs while also adding three assists and a service ace
- Junior Academic All-PAC middle blocker Ashton Thomas (Toronto, Ohio) and freshman outside hitter Molly Brown (Lancaster, Ohio/Fairfield Union) each had a team-high four kills on 11 attacks to open the tournament
- Freshman setter Sophia Marshall (Caldwell, Ohio) put up 10 assists, five digs, and two aces
- Junior Academic All-PAC right-side hitter Shayleigh Hornyak (Brilliant, Ohio/Buckeye Local) added three kills, a dig, and a block assist against the Lions
- Sophomore Academic All-PAC setter Grace Padavick (Cleveland, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) finished with six digs and four assists
- Graduate middle blocker Megan Chesser (Grove City, Ohio/Bishop Ready) also put up three kills for the Bethany offense
- Freshman middle blocker Haylee Stewart (New Cumberland, W.Va./Oak Glen) made her Green and White debut in the Challenge opener
- Thomas also led the team at the net with two blocks
vs. Wooster
- Senior Academic All-PAC defensive specialist Madi Donelson (Lanham, Md./Annapolis Area Christian) played all four sets where she recorded nine digs and served up an ace
- Sophomore Academic All-PAC outside hitter Analesa Perdue (Steubenville, Ohio) put up six kills and five digs
- Senior Academic All-PAC defensive specialist Avery Askew (St. Thomas, Ontario/Parkside Collegiate Institute) and Brown each got in on the defensive action with eight digs
- Chesser had a huge offensive game as she tallied eight kills and five aces for a team-best 13 points
- Marshall posted her first career double-double with 15 assists and 10 digs
- Padavick assisted on 11 of the Bison's 30 kills and added five digs
- Thomas added eight more kills and three blocks to continue her hot start to the season
- Freshman middle blocker Jasmine Harris (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Madison Christian) played in her first collegiate game against the Fighting Scots
The Bison continue the 2026 Saint Vincent Bearcat Challenge on Saturday, September 5 where they will take on Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology at 2 p.m. and Carlow (Pa.) University at 6 p.m. at the Robert S. Carey Center.
