WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Senior
Jillian Grammer (CENTER VALLEY, PA./SOUTHERN LEHIGH) passed Lisa Yeasted (2005-08) for the top spot on West Chester's all-time career assists list, as the Golden Rams volleyball team defeated Kutztown 3-2 (26-28, 25-19, 25-16, 20-25, 15-5) to kick off Saturday's tri-match inside the Hollinger Field House.
MILESTONE ALERT
- Grammer notched 55 assists in the win over the Golden Bears to give the senior a record 4,620 helpers across her career – handing the setter a 49-assist cushion over previous record holder Lisa Yeasted for the top spot in program history.
- With one more match to go, Grammer currently sits at No. 10 on the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) career assists list.
- Entering this afternoon's season finale against Virginia State, Grammer's 10.2 assist/set are the most ever by a West Chester volleyball player and her 1,229 career digs are ninth most in WCU history.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The visiting Golden Bears (10-18, 3-15 PSAC) took a hard-fought 28-26 victory to start the match, before West Chester (20-10, 9-9 PSAC) answered back by taking the next two frames by a combined score of 50-34.
- Kutztown grabbed the fourth stanza 25-20 to force a fifth frame, but that proved to be the last positive for the Golden Bears in the match. With senior Alex Gleason (LANDENBERG, PA. /KENNETT) serving, the Golden Rams scored the first eight points of the fifth frame to take a commanding 8-0 advantage in the deciding set. Up 13-5, kills from Grammer and freshman Nina Tindall (BEAR, DEL./DELAWARE MILITARY ACADEMY) would secure the dominating 15-5 win to give WCU the 3-2 divisional victory on Saturday afternoon.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Grammer paired her 55 assists with 15 digs to give the senior her 22nd double-double of the season, and she also chipped in a career-high nine kills on the day to put the setter just one kill away from earning her first career triple-double.
- Senior Allie Duffy (CARLISLE, PA./CARLISLE) led all players with 17 kills on Friday afternoon and her .607 hitting percentage signaled the sixth time this year that she hit over .600 in a match. Freshman Grace Whitney (GLENSIDE, PA/ABINGTON) notched a career-high 14 kills and a team-high five total blocks against the Golden Bears, while fellow freshman Sarah Polacek's (JOHNSTOWN, PA /WESTMONT HILLTOP) 11 kills on Saturday marked the third straight match that the outside hitter eclipsed 10 kills in a contest.
- Graduate student Nicki Yates' (COOPERSBURG, PA./SOUTHERN LEHIGH) 22 digs were a match high and the number pushed her career total to 2,609 scoops overall – a number that stands atop the WCU career record book and at No. 4 on the PSAC's all-time career list.
- Holly Owen paced the Kutztown attack with 15 kills and Abbey James finished the match with 22 assists and 11 digs in the losing effort.
- Saturday's victory secured the fifth 20-win season in a row for the Golden Rams.
UP NEXT
- West Chester closes out the 2018 season later today against Virginia State at 4:30 p.m. inside the Hollinger Field House.
