West Chester Upsets Seton Hill, 3-0

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Abbie Dischert (Wilmington, Del./Concord) and Karleigh Lutz (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) each posted 10 kills to lead host West Chester to a 3-0 sweep over visiting Seton Hill inside Sturzebecker Health Science Center's Gym 4 Saturday afternoon.
 
West Chester (11-2, 1-1 PSAC) earned its first win over Seton Hill (8-3, 1-1) since 2009 and the first since the Griffins joined the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference while ending a four-match losing streak in the process. The Golden Rams took the match by scores of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-10.
 
"I think that yesterday against Cal, technically, we were OK. But, we struggled with confidence," head coach Kassie Bellaver said. "(The girls) came into today very confident following that loss and it showed in the way that they played."
 
Dischert and Lutz each led the way with four kills in the first set to help West Chester get off to a good start. Then, it was Victoria Cruciani (Phoenixville, Pa./Pope John Paul II), who highlighted a critical 6-1 run midway through the second set with a monster block to push the Rams out to a 20-15 lead in what had been a back-and-forth seesaw battle.
 
Lutz finished with eight digs in the win while Cruciani's block was one of eight for her in the match. She also contributed five kills. Both Lutz and Dischert hit over .350 in the win.
 
"This was an important weekend," Bellaver added. "Facing tougher competition this weekend than we may have faced in the preseason, was an adjustment. But, I think we turned a corner today."
 
The Golden Rams left little doubt as to the outcome in the third set, taking the win by a 25-10 score.
 
Nicki Yates (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) had 18 digs while Jillian Grammer (Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh) registered 33 assists.