West Chester Opens PSAC Play With 3-1 Victory Over SRU

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The West Chester University volleyball team kicked off Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action on Friday by defeating Slippery Rock 3-1 (25-16, 13-25, 25-18, 25-18) inside the Hollinger Field House.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Golden Rams (11-0) held a slim 17-13 advantage in the opening frame, but a 3-0 spurt by The Rock would bring the visitors within a single point (17-16) late in the set. With senior Abbie Dischert (WILMINGTON, DE./CONCORD) at the serve, WCU closed out the opening frame by scoring eight unanswered to grab the opening stanza, 25-16.
• West Chester struggled mightily in the second frame, as the Golden Rams were only able to notch a 0.27 hitting percentage in the loss and tallied their lowest scoring set of the season (13).
• The Golden Rams raced out to a 3-0 lead to start the third frame, but The Rock was able to hang around and eventually squared the set up at 10-10. WCU answered back with a 4-0 spurt to go up 14-10 and the home team was able to maintain that cushion for the duration of the frame – eventually ending the set by scoring three-straight points to clinch the 25-18 win.
• Slippery Rock took its largest lead of the entire match (10-7) in the fourth set, but a 5-0 run – three of the points coming off of kills from sophomore Brianna Fisher (WALLINGFORD, PA./STRATH HAVEN) – put the home team back into the driver seat, at least for the moment. SRU stormed back to square the set at 19-19, but the home team was able to slam the door on their opponents thanks to 6-1 run to end the final frame.

BY THE NUMBERS

• The Golden Rams recorded a .233 hitting percentage (53-16-159) on Friday while keeping The Rock to a .171 clip on the night.
• Senior Jillian Grammer (CENTER VALLEY, PA./SOUTHERN LEHIGH) recorded her second double-double in a row (fourth overall) on Friday. The DS tied her season high with 44 assists against The Rock and added 12 digs on the night. Friday marked the fifth time this season that Grammer had eclipsed the 40-assist plateau in a match.
• Freshman Julia Vreeswyk (YARDLEY, PA/PENNSBURY) paced the Golden Rams with 14 kills on the evening, marking the second time this season that the freshman logged over 10 kills overall.
• Graduate student Nicki Yates (COOPERSBURG, PA./SOUTHERN LEHIGH) scooped up 21 digs in the victory, while freshman Grace Whitney (GLENSIDE, PA ABINGTON) set a new season high with six total blocks against Slippery Rock.

UP NEXT

• West Chester returns to Hollinger tomorrow, September 15, to square off against PSAC foe Edinboro at 1:00 p.m.