West Chester Steps Past Pitt-Johnstown In NCAA Tournament Debut

Box Score
Post-Game Press Conference

WHEELING, W.Va. – December volleyball suits West Chester head coach Kassie Bellaver just fine.
 
West Chester University downed Pitt-Johnstown, 3-1, in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Tournament Thursday afternoon inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center on the campus of Wheeling Jesuit University.
 
West Chester (26-10), making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history, picked up its first NCAA win as well with the 22-25, 25-16, 25-15 and 25-23 opposite PSAC East rival Pitt-Johnstown (29-7).
 
West Chester advances to the regional semifinals where it will take on Gannon, who was a 3-1 winner over Shippensburg, on Friday at 5 p.m. Tournament host, Wheeling Jesuit, will face Clarion in the other regional semifinal.
 
The Golden Rams posted 75 digs in the four-set victory and registered a .314 hitting percentage. In a situation where West Chester had to bring it's A-game to beat the regular-season PSAC Eastern Division champions, the Rams defense did not disappoint.
 
"We wanted to limit their runs," senior outside hitter Marina Sharkey (Newtown Square, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) said. "(UPJ) has good servers, but we were able to receive well and set up our hitters, and that was all because of our defense. It was all defense today."
 
Five Golden Rams reached double figures in digs while the team recorded eight blocks. Conversely, the Lady Cats hit just .147 as a result and had more than 20 fewer kills in the match.
 
"I am so happy for our four seniors," Bellaver said. "Our execution and the mental toughness to get out of those runs made the difference today. (In the regular-season loss to UPJ) it was a few service points that were the reason we lost. We wanted to stay focused and play loose. Things went our way today."
 
Sharkey finished with a season-high 15 kills, hitting .464. She added a pair of blocks as well. Classmate Samantha Agostini (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) added a season-best 12 kills and hit .364. She had five assists, one dig and one block.
 
All-Atlantic Region first-team honoree Molly Grammer (Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh) led the team with 19 kills, hitting an even .300. Grammer's sister, Jillian, registered 47 assists and 14 digs in the win.
 
Nicki Yates (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) led the Golden Rams with 18 digs while Bethany Gould (Camp Hill, Pa./Cumberland Valley) had 15. Lyndsey Iacobelli (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) recorded 12 digs, and Callie Krajcir (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) added 10.
 
Allie Duffy (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) posted eight kills and three blocks while Tori Cruciani (Phoenixville, Pa./Pope John Paul II) finished with six kills and five blocks.