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Championship Central
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - For the second year in a row, the West Chester women's volleyball team (20-10, 8-6) has qualified for the PSAC Tournament, earning a Quarterfinal rematch with top-seed Shepherd (20-6, 12-2) on Wednesday night inside the Butcher Athletic Center in Shepherdstown.
FAN INFORMATION
Ticket prices will be sold at the door with prices set at $10 for adults, and $5 for students/seniors, with students from PSAC Member Institutions, admitted free with valid, current ID from their member
Institution.
SERIES INFORMATION
This Quarterfinal appearance marks the second year in a row in which West Chester has qualified for the PSAC Tournament, marking the first time this has happened since the 2016 and 2017 seasons when West Chester was in the midst of a four-year appearance streak, which ran from 2014 through the 2017 season.
West Chester enters play with a record of 5-11 vs. Shepherd, with its last victory over the Rams coming at home during the 2011 season when West Chester earned a 3-1 victory over Shepherd. This season, West Chester has matched up against Shepherd twice, including a meeting last Friday night on the final weekend of the regular season, dropping that meeting 3-0 after falling in the first meeting 3-1 to the Rams inside Hollinger Field House.
FLOCK TALK
After completing its second 20-win season in a row and sixth in the last seven years, the West Chester women's volleyball team is ready to run at a PSAC Title again in 2022. After graduating some key players from a season ago, including a pair of All-Conference honorees, West Chester showed little signs of a slowdown in 2022, thanks in large part to the arrival of
Tori Wright (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) and
Brynn Dreisbach (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) who ranked first and second on the team in kills with 280 and 256, respectively. Wright enters the postseason 10
th in the PSAC in kills, thanks in part to the efforts of junior setter and returning All-Conference honoree
Jamie Byrne (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty), who ranks eighth in the PSAC in assists with 783 on the year. In addition to the efforts of Wright and Dreisbach, senior
Hailey Lewis (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) has also enjoyed a stellar 2022 season, ranking third on the team in kills with 226 while also ranking second on the team in blocks with 67, which ranks her 15
th in the PSAC entering the Championships.
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton), who led the PSAC in aces a year ago, ranks first on the team in aces once again this season with 44, while fellow junior Byrne is second on the team in aces with 43, followed by
Jillian Borgerding (Highland Ranch, Co./Highland Ranch) in third with 37 aces of her own. Heffner and Byrne also rank atop the team leaderboard in digs as Heffner leads the way with 424, which is seventh-best in the PSAC, while Byrne is second on the team with 205 digs of her own. Dreisbach has also made a strong effort defensively for West Chester this year, ranking third on the team in digs with 168 of her own. Another freshman,
Nicole Dimiris (Hockessin, Del./St. Marks), has also made solid defensive contributions already this season, leading the team in blocks with 77, which is 12
th best in the PSAC entering the PSAC Tournament.
As a team, West Chester has gone on runs when the Golden Rams have needed them the most, opening the year on a six-match winning streak before going on another seven-match winning streak during the middle part of the season. In need of some late wins to qualify for the Tournament, West Chester got hot once more, ending the year by winning five of its last seven league matches and seven of 11 overall to win its way into the PSAC Tournament once again.
SCOUTING SHEPHERD
For its part, Shepherd enters the PSAC Tournament as winners of each of its last 12 matches to finish the regular season with a record of 20-6 overall and 12-2 in league play, qualifying for the PSAC Tournament for the third year in a row.
Mikaylah Hoy has been the leader for Shepherd throughout the 2022 season, registering a team-best 275 kills as the lone ram with 200 or more kills on the season. In the first two meetings with West Chester this season, Hoy has led the Rams in kills in each meeting, finishing with 13 the first time the two teams met before registering 10 in the most recent matchup last Friday night. Joi Fairweather, who also ranks fourth on the team in blocks with 52 on the year, is second on the squad in kills with 186 of her own entering the PSAC Tournament. Victoria Nicholes has been a significant player for the Rams this year, doing a nice job facilitating the Rams offense, finishing the regular season with 570 assists, while Macy Buso is second in this category with 193 assists of her own.
Defensively, Claire Ellis has been strong for Shepherd throughout the season, registering a team-best 343 digs while also leading the team and ranking fourth in the PSAC (second in the PSAC East) in aces with 49 on the year. Renee Killough has also done her part defensively, coming away with 112 blocks on the year, which ranks first in the PSAC, averaging 1.32 blocks per set.
WITH A WIN
With a victory on Wednesday night, West Chester would not only halt a 10-game losing streak against the Rams but would also advance to the PSAC Semifinals for the first time since the 2017 season when West Chester.
