WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Saturday's tournament finale between the West Chester University volleyball team and Fairmont State proved to be the toughest test of the weekend for the Golden Rams, but the host team was able to withstand the Fighting Falcons' onslaught to earn the 3-0 (25-22,25-19,25-13) victory and claim the 2018 Ram Fest title inside the Hollinger Field House.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Fairmont State raced out to a 4-0 lead to start the first set, marking the largest deficit the Golden Rams have faced throughout the weekend. WCU was able to slowly climb itself back into the match and eventually took a slim 15-12 advantage following a kill by Allie Duffy (CARLISLE, PA./CARLISLE). The Fighting Falcons were able to score three-unanswered points late to thin the home team's lead to just one (23-22), before Jillian Grammer (CENTER VALLEY, PA./SOUTHERN LEHIGH) linked up with Emily Ahern (DOWNINGTOWN, PA./DOWNINGTOWN WEST) and Brianna Fisher (WALLINGFORD, PA./STRATH HAVEN) for back-to-back kills to seal the 25-22 come-from-behind victory for the Golden Rams to open the match.
- Set two was another battle, as neither side was able to build a lead larger than two points for a majority of the frame. Up 20-18, WCU used two Fairmont State errors to go up four and the home team eventually was able string together the final three points – two coming from kills by Fisher and Grace Whitney (GLENSIDE, PA/ABINGTON) – to grab the six-point win in the second stanza.
- West Chester built a 10-point cushion in the third frame and managed to maintain that double-digit advantage for the most of the set. Leading 21-13, the home team rallied off the last four-straight points – capped by a kill from Duffy – to earn the 25-13 set win and the 3-0 victory in the match.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Grammer notched 40 assists against Fairmont State to give the senior 135 total assists (33.75/match) across the four matches this weekend.
- Abbie Dischert (WILMINGTON, DE./CONCORD) recorded nine kills for the second match in a row, and her .261 hitting percentage stands as the second highest for the senior this year.
- Nicki Yates' (COOPERSBURG, PA./SOUTHERN LEHIGH) 14 digs against the Fighting Falcons pushes her streak of matches with at least ten digs to 20 overall dating back to the 2017 campaign.
- With the four victories this weekend, West Chester improves to 24-0 in Ram Fest matches dating back to the 2013 season.
- During their impressive 24-match winning streak at Ram Fest, the Golden Rams have only dropped two total sets.
- WCU last lost at Ram Fest in 2012 to Daemon (1-3).
UP NEXT
- West Chester is scheduled to participate in the Marauders Clash on Friday (Sep. 7) and Saturday (Sep. 8) at Pucillo Gym in Millersville. The Golden Rams will square off against USciences (1:00 p.m.) and Bloomfield (5:00 p.m.) on Friday, before closing out the tournament against Dominican (10:00 a.m.) and Adelphi (2:00 p.m.) on Saturday.
- WCU went 3-0 at last year's Marauders Clash.
