MEADVILLE, Pa. - The Allegheny women's volleyball squad split the last two matches of the Gator Invitational on Saturday afternoon, beating rival Grove City 3-1 (25-15, 24-26, 25-21, 25-17) and falling to Frostburg State 1-3 (15-25, 26-24, 17-25, 25-22, 10-15).

The first match of the day was very competitive, as both teams looked to find their stride. The Gators took the first game easily; however, the Wolverines would battle tough and take the second set. The third set was a back and forth affair, as Allegheny would pull away to take a two sets to one lead. The Gators would control play throughout the fourth and final set to put away Grove City and push their winning streak to three.

Freshman Katelynn Long and senior Winnie Wong would pace Allegheny with 20 digs each, and sophomore setter Madie Hudac would contribute an astonishing 42 assists as Allegheny would look towards the Tournament championship.

Frostburg State would have other plans, as they would come into the game 2-1 over the weekend, looking to derail the host team and claim the championship for their own.

The Gators would battle hard, playing in their second five set match of the two-day tournament; but they would fall just short dropping to 3-1 over the weekend. Seniors Audra Batdroff and Caitlin Rothman would lead the way, as Batdroff would amass 15 kills, and Rothman would add 11 of her own. Long continued her solid play at libero as she contributed 23 digs and had six service aces.

The loss would drop Allegheny into a three way tie for the top spot at 3-1. With three teams tied atop the leader board, the final decision would go down to a tiebreak. The tiebreak went to the team with the most sets won between the three. Allegheny was awarded the championship after review because they had won five matches against Frostburg State and Grove City. The Wolverines were a very close second with four set wins.

The Gators improve to 4-7 on the season after the weekend, and look to continue their winning ways at home against Pitt-Bradford on Wednesday, September 21.