Volleyball Falls to Shepherd in Five Sets

KUTZTOWN, Pa. - West Chester University women's volleyball (9-1) dropped its first match of the season, falling to Shepherd University (8-2) in a non-conference match at the Kutztown Classic. Shepherd went on to win in five sets (25-23,16-25,25-18,18-25,15-11).

How it Happened:

• The first set was a back-and-forth affair the entire way and while the Golden Rams held the lead most of the way, they would ultimately drop the first set by a score of 25-23.
• In the second set, West Chester came out hot as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead forcing Shepherd to use an early timeout. West Chester's strong second set would continue after the timeout as they would cruise to a second set victory, 25-16.
• In the third set, it was another back-and-forth affair as there were six lead changes and nine ties in the first 22 points of the set. Following this, Shepherd would go on a big run which ultimately allowed them to take the third set, 25-18.
• In the fourth set, the Golden Rams jumped out to a 6-3 lead early in the set. However, Shepherd would battle back to bring the score to 8-8 midway through the fourth set. West Chester would quickly recover as they went on to take the fourth set by a score of 25-18.
• Shepherd ultimately pull away to win the final set by a 15-11 margin.

Inside the Numbers:

• Karleigh Lutz(Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) recorded a match best 17 kills to go along with 13 digs for the match.
• The Golden Rams had a hitting percentage of .225 on the day while holding Shepherd to a .196 hitting percentage.
• Jillian Grammer(Centre Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh)  contributed in her usual way as she recorded a match best 52 assists to facilitate the Golden Ram offense.
• Nicki Yates(Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) recorded a match best 26 digs to try and hold off the Shepherd attacks.
• Service errors would ultimately be the undoing of the Golden Rams as they recorded 15 service errors while Shepherd recorded just seven.

Up Next:
The Golden Rams will play again later this afternoon at 3:30 p.m when they face off against Goldey Beacom for the second time this season.