RUTHERFORD, N.J.- Following a pair of narrow road setbacks over the weekend, the West Chester women's volleyball team (13-5) returned to action on Tuesday night to conclude its seven-match road swing against non-conference foe Felician (6-12). West Chester battled throughout and earned a narrow 3-0 (25-21, 27-25, 25-21) victory over Felician.
In the first set, West Chester jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, punctuated by three aces from
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton), which prompted a Felician timeout. Following the timeout, Felician countered with a 13-6 run to even the set at 13-13, prompting a quick Golden Ram timeout. Out of the timeout, West Chester went on a 10-7 run to take a 23-20 lead late in the set en route to the 25-21 set victory.
In the second set, West Chester and Felician continued to trade runs as West Chester held a slim 14-12 midway through the set. Felician did not go away quietly as the Falcons continued to remain within a few points if not tied with the Golden Rams until late in the set. West Chester finally sealed the 27-25 second set victory with a block between
Maria Harding (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) and
Olivia Rudjord (Fogelsville, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) to go up 2-0 in the match.
In the third set, West Chester and Felician continued to trade points throughout the early going of the set as things remained tight late with the score tied at 15-15. West Chester got on a quick 6-0 run to take a 21-15 lead, which proved to be all the distance the Purple and Gold would need en route to the 25-21 third set victory and 3-0 match victory.
Julia Vreeswyk (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) led a trio of Golden Rams in double digit kills with 12 on the night while
Grace Whitney (Glenside, Pa./Abington) and Rudjord each ended with double-digit kills as well with 11 and 10, respectively. Rudjord also led the way in blocks with five while Whitney logged three blocks of her own.
Jamie Byrne (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) registered another double-double with a team-high 38 assists and 11 digs while Heffner led the team in digs with 19 in the victory. Heffner also led the team in aces with four in the victory while
Ali Miller (Enola, Pa./Cumberland Valley) registered three aces of her own to help lead West Chester to the non-league victory.
West Chester will be back in action on Friday evening at home against East Stroudsburg with that match set to begin at 7 p.m. inside Hollinger Fieldhouse.
