West Chester Upsets Pitt-Johnstown On The Road To Advance To PSAC Semifinals

Box Score

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - Julia O'Brien (New Holland, Pa./Garden Spot) registered a triple double with 13 kills, 11 digs and 10 blocks while Marina Sharkey (Newtown Square, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) led the Golden Rams with 14 kills as visiting West Chester upset Pitt-Johnstown, 3-1, in a PSAC Quarterfinal women's volleyball match Tuesday night.
 
West Chester (21-13) advances to the conference semifinals for just the third time since a quarterfinal round was added to the playoff format in 2003 and the second time under current head coach Kassie Bellaver.
 
The Golden Rams won Tuesday evening by scores of 25-22, 18-25, 26-24 and 25-20 to advance to the next round where they will travel to Greensburg, Pa., to take on California, Pa., the fourth seed out of the Western Division. Seton Hill University, the highest remaining seed in the West, will host the semifinals and finals. The Griffins will play Shippensburg in the other semifinal Saturday.
 
"I am really proud of the girls and the way they fought tonight," Bellaver stated afterwards. "Regardless of the deficit, they hung in there and fought to the end. We are happy, but there are bigger goals still ahead of us."
 
With the match tied at one set apiece, Pitt-Johnstown (19-13) held a 15-9 advantage in the third set. That is when West Chester began its calculated comeback, scoring four straight points to come within two (15-13). The Mountain Cats opened two more five-point leads and eventually held a 22-17 edge, before the Rams staged a 7-1 run that put the third seed in the tournament up 24-23. UPJ tied things up at 24-all, but an O'Brien kill, followed by an attack error from the 'Cats gave West Chester the set, 26-24.
 
A 15-9 edge in set four also proved to be the beginning of the end for Pitt-Johnstown as West Chester put together a 9-2 run that gave the Rams an 18-17 edge on the second seeded Mountain Cats. With WCU clinging to a 20-19 lead, Cara Reese (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) put down a kill, and then teamed up with Sharkey for back-to-back blocks that helped West Chester push its lead to 23-19. A kill by UPJ ended the mini-run. However, Sharkey and Lutz closed out the match with kills to advance WCU to the next round.
 
"We rely a lot on our middles (Reese, O'Brien)," Bellaver disclosed. "But, our outsides (Sharkey, Lutz) played extremely well. We tried to serve aggressively and keep them out of their system."
 
Annalee Halbert (Port Murray, N.J./West Morris Central) handed out 41 assists while Callie Krajcir (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) registered a game-high 28 digs. The Golden Rams recorded 13 team blocks and accumulated 91 team digs in a solid defensive effort. Karleigh Lutz (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) posted 12 kills as well. Reese finished with nine kills.
 
Fourth-seeded Shippensburg also upset Eastern Division regular-season champion, Lock Haven, Tuesday to advance to the semifinals, making it Nos. 3 and 4 seeds from the East going up against the No. 2 seed Seton Hill and No. 4 seed California, Pa.
 
The PSAC Semifinals will be played on Saturday with the championship game being played on Sunday at 12 p.m. The PSAC Volleyball Championship Game will be aired live on PCN-TV. Please click here to determine the channel designation of PCN-TV in your area.

In addition to watching the championship game on television, fans can catch a live web stream of the game online. Click here for more information.

The PCN Mobile App is also available for download so fans can watch the game live via their mobile device. The app is available on the App Store and Play Store. After subscribing for a one day, or yearly, subscription to PCN on pcntv.com, the PCN Mobile App is then available for download, and fans can have access to PCN anytime, anywhere.

The volleyball championship game will re-air on Monday, November 17 at 12:30 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.
 
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NOTES: West Chester is now 3-11 all-time in the PSAC Tournament since 1991 ... Tuesday's quarterfinal win over Pitt-Johnstown was the first postseason victory over the Mountain Cats in the teams' first playoff encounter ... it marks the second time in four years that West Chester has advanced to the conference semifinals ... it is the third time West Chester has advanced to the conference semifinals since the league added a quarterfinal round in 2003 and the fifth time overall ... West Chester split its two meetings with UPJ during the regular season with each team winning on its own home floor ... West Chester will now play California, Pa., in the conference semifinals.