LOCK HAVEN, Pa.- Abiah Lane (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) led West Chester and tied for the match lead in kills with nine kills on 25 swings to help lead West Chester (17-7, 5-4 PSAC) past Lock Haven (1-19, 1-8 PSAC) on Friday night by a final of 3-0.
In a match that was close throughout with all three sets being decided by six points or less with late set runs by the Golden Rams, West Chester picked up its second consecutive PSAC East victory and its fourth win in its last five matches to move back into the top-four in the PSAC East standings entering the final weeks of the regular season.
West Chester and Lock Haven traded points throughout much of the first set but the Golden Rams prevailed by a final of 25-19, thanks in part to back-to-back Bald Eagle attack errors and a
Tori Wright (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) kill to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
In the second set, West Chester and Lock Haven continued to trade points until a mid-set run by West Chester put the Golden Rams out in front 18-13 entering the late stages of the set. Lock Haven rallied back with a 4-2 run of its own, cutting the West Chester lead to 20-17, which prompted a WCU timeout. The timeout did its job for the Golden Rams, halting the Bald Eagle run before closing out the set with a pair of kills by
Abiah Lane (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) and Wright to take a 25-20 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.
West Chester led for much of the early going in the third set before a 3-0 Lock Haven run erased the early Golden Ram lead and put Lock Haven in front 18-16, prompting a quick West Chester timeout. The timeout did its job as West Chester answered with a 4-1 run, capped off by a
Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) kill to take a 20-19 lead and prompt a Lock Haven timeout. West Chester and Lock Haven remained tight through the final points of the third set but West Chester prevailed by a final of 25-23 thanks to a
Megan St. Jean (Eaton, Co./Eaton) service ace to claim the match by a 3-0 final.
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton) led the way in digs with 13 while Wright and
Jamie Byrne (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) each registered 10 digs of their own. Byrne recorded another double-double finishing with 10 digs and 12 assists. St. Jean tied Byrne for the team lead in assists while also leading the Golden Rams in aces with a pair, including her ace to close out the third set victory.
As a unit, West Chester hit .208 on the match, including a third-set effort, which saw the Golden Rams hit a match-high .281 while holding Lock Haven to a .067 hitting percentage, including two sets of sub .030 hitting.
Up Next:
West Chester will look to continue its hot streak with another important PSAC East match at Bloomsburg tomorrow night beginning at 6 p.m.
