Erie, Pa.-The West Chester University volleyball team (24-8) concluded their PSAC tournament run on Friday night as they lost to Gannon (28-5) in straight sets (25-20, 26-24, 25-16).
In the first set West Chester briefly held a lead at 3-1 but this lead did not last long as Gannon quickly answered back with a big run and in spite of small surges from the Golden Rams it was not enough to avoid dropping the first set. The second set was a back and forth affair throughout and once again while they put quite a bit of pressure on the Golden Knights the Golden Rams were unable to win the set sending the match to the third set with Gannon up 2-0. In the third set it was yet another back and forth battle throughout the early part of the set but once Gannon took the 11-9 lead they did not look back as they raced to a 25-16 third set victory to win the match in straight sets. This victory sends Gannon on to the PSAC Championship match on Saturday afternoon.
Victoria Cruciani (Phoenixville, Pa./Pope John Paul II) led West Chester in kills with nine while teammate
Karleigh Lutz (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) turned in eight kills of her own.
Jillian Grammer (Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh) contributed in her usual way as she registered a team high 27 assists on the match while
Nicki Yates (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) led the way in digs with 13.
The Golden Rams must now await their fate in the NCAA postseason. The bracket will be announced on Monday night at 7:30 pm and the top 8 teams out of each region will qualify. West Chester was ranked eighth in the final regional rankings which were released on Wednesday afternoon.
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