WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The West Chester University volleyball team suffered just their second loss of the season on Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Rams fell 3-0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-17) to Lock Haven at the Hollinger Field House in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Golden Rams (15-2, 4-1 PSAC) found themselves down 12-7 early in the opening set, but the home team strung together four-unanswered points to hack the deficit to a single point (12-11). With LHU leading 16-15, a kill from Rachel Robb (BLACKWOOD, N.J./PAUL VI) sparked a 4-0 spurt to put the Golden Rams in front 19-16 in waning moments. With WCU standing just one point away from the victory (24-22), Lock Haven ended the opener with a 5-0 run to steal the first set 27-25 to start the match.
- The Bald Eagles (6-9, 1-5 PSAC) notched the first point of the second set and did not relinquish it for the duration of the frame. Trailing 24-19 late, the Golden Rams rattled off four-answered to cut the LHU advantage to just one at 24-23. Despite the momentum being on the home team's side, Lock Haven was able to hold on for the 25-23 victory in set two thanks to a winning killing by Breanna McDonald.
- WCU jumped out to a 4-1 lead to start the third, but the Bald Eagles quickly responded with a 6-0 run to go in front 7-4. The Golden Rams were unable to get any closer than four points for the remainder of the frame and eventually surrendered the set 25-17 and the match, 3-0.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Freshman Julia Vreeswyk (YARDLEY, PA/PENNSBURY) led the Golden Rams for the second straight match with 10 kills, while freshman Grace Whitney (GLENSIDE, PA/ABINGTON) and Robb both added eight kills in the loss
- Senior Jillian Grammer (CENTER VALLEY, PA./SOUTHERN LEHIGH) notched her eighth double-double in a row on Saturday after handing out 36 assists and scooping 16 digs against the Bald Eagles.
- Graduate student Nicki Yates (COOPERSBURG, PA./SOUTHERN LEHIGH) paced all players with 23 digs on the afternoon, to give the libero her eighth match this season with at least 20 digs.
- West Chester's .161 hitting percentage against the Bald Eagles was the second lowest for the Purple and Gold this season, while the Golden Rams' 48 total points were tied for the fewest this year.
- Despite winning the last two meetings against LHU, West Chester has now lost 17 of its last 20 meetings against Lock Haven dating back to 2007.
UP NEXT
- The Golden Rams return to the Hollinger Field House on Tuesday, October 2, to square off against PSAC Southeast Division foe Millersville at 7:00 p.m.
