Grove City College Athletics

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Grove City College women's volleyball advanced to the semifinal round of the 2025 Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship Tournament by outlasting host Washington & Jefferson in the tournament quarterfinals Tuesday night at Salvitti Family Gymnasium, 23-25, 25-13, 25-19, 23-25, 17-15.

Grove City will now face North Division rival Thiel at 7 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals. Thiel, the North's No. 2 seed, defeated South Division No. 3 seed Franciscan in four sets Tuesday night in Greenville.

Grove City (18-8) trailed 14-12 in the fifth set before rallying for the victory. Juniors Sarah Hart (Marriottsville, Md./Liberty) and Alayna Dorst (Middletown, Del/Middletown) tied the set with consecutive kills. The Wolverines then pulled ahead, 15-14, on a kill by sophomore Lilly Pool (Ashland, Ohio/Ashland).

South Division kingpin W&J forged a 15-15 tie but the Presidents had a serving error that put Grove City ahead again. Junior Kendra Klusch (Alliance, Ohio/Homeschooled) then sent Grove City to the semifinals by hammering home her 12th kill of the night. 

Hart led Grove City, the No. 4 team from the North Division, with 21 kills. Dorst and junior Lily Lagaras (Crofton, Md./Crofton) joined Hart and Klusch in double figures as each player tallied 11 kills. Pool contributed eight kills.

Sophomore Brooke Manfull (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) paced Grove City with 27 assists. Junior Sarah Harris (Lebanon, Ohio/Mars Hill) totaled 25 assists. Manfull also served two aces. 

Pool led Grove City with eight total blocks. Lagaras and senior Lila Stonehouse (Hatboro, Pa./Abington) each chalked up four blocks while Dorst delivered three blocks. Dorst also had a team-leading 26 digs. Sophomore Lilly Wojtala (Copley, Ohio/Revere) recorded 24 digs. Manfull (13), Harris (11) and Hart (10) also reached double figures in digs. 

The conference's North Division went 4-0 in Tuesday's quarterfinals. North Division champion Hiram downed South Division No. 4 Saint Vincent in four sets while Westminster, the North's third-place team, captured a 3-1 win at South Division runner-up Chatham.

Hiram will host Westminster in the other semifinal Thursday. 

Grove City and Thiel split their two regular season meetings, with the road team winning each match. Grove City earned a 25-18, 25-18, 26-24 win October 22 in Greenville. The road team has won each of the last five meetings in the series.