West Chester Upsets Seton Hill On The Road In PSAC Quarterfinals

GREENSBURG, Pa. – West Chester University's women's volleyball team rallied from an early deficit in the fourth set to squash a Seton Hill University comeback bid and advance to the semifinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament with a 3-1 win at the McKenna Center Tuesday evening.
 
West Chester (24-7) advances to the conference semifinals for just the fourth time in school history and the third time under head coach Kassie Bellaver. The Golden Rams last reached the PSAC semifinals in 2014.
 
West Chester took the first set by a 25-20 score. The five point margin of victory marked the biggest lead of the set in a back-and-forth battle. Victoria Cruciani (Phoenixville, Pa./Pope John Paul II) came up with a pair of blocks down the stretch that helped sway the momentum in the Golden Rams' favor.
 
In the second set, West Chester went on an 11-3 run midway through to bust open another tight set and take a 10-point lead at 22-12. The two sides traded points the rest of the way as the Golden Rams took control of the match with a 25-15 victory that left Seton Hill in a 2-0 hole.
 
The host Griffins battled back with a 25-17 win in the third set, and seemed to ride that momentum into the fourth set when they jumped out to a 7-1 advantage.
 
That is when the Golden Rams swung the pendulum back in their direction with a decisive 13-4 run that opened up a 14-11 lead for the sixth-seeded Golden Rams. Seton Hill did not go away, and the fourth set stood at 24-20 when the Griffins made one final push. SHU registered three straight points to pull within one. But, West Chester closed out the match with a final point and a 25-23 victory.
 
Abbie Dischert (Wilmington, Del./Concord) and Karleigh Lutz (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Chambersburg) each finished with a team-high 14 kills. Dischert posted a double-double, adding 10 digs to the cause. West Chester hit .239 for the match, as opposed to Seton Hill's .122.
 
The difference defensively was Cruciani's six blocks, which all seemed to come at crucial times that took the wind out of Seton Hill's sails. Nicki Yates (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) finished with 26 digs.
 
Allie Duffy (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) and Cruciani each contributed nine kills in the win.
 
West Chester advances to take on second-seeded Gannon on Friday in one semifinal. The Golden Knights will host the PSAC Championship Weekend with the loss of regular-season champion Indiana (Pa.) Tuesday. All four odd-seeded teams fell in the quarterfinals – Nos. 1, 3, 5 and 7 seeds dropped their quarterfinal round matches.