SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V.- The West Chester women's volleyball team (20-11) returned to action on Wednesday night at top-seed Shepherd (21-6) in the PSAC Quarterfinals for the second consecutive year; West Chester battled throughout the night but fell by a final of 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-19).
This evening's setback brings the Golden Rams 2022 season to its conclusion with the team's second 20-win season in a row and second consecutive PSAC Tournament appearance. With this, West Chester has reached the Tournament in four of the last six years and has registered 20 wins or more in seven of the last eight seasons.
Shepherd jumped out to an early 8-3 lead en route to a 25-15 first-set victory and a 1-0 lead in the match.
In the second set, West Chester and Shepherd traded points early before West Chester surged ahead to a 10-7 lead early in the set. From this point, things remained tight through the balance of the set, but Shepherd's late surge gave the Rams a slim 25-22 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Needing a third-set victory to extend the season, West Chester jumped out to a quick 6-5 lead thanks to an ace by
Jillian Borgerding (Highland Ranch, Co./Highland Ranch). Shepherd countered with a 3-0 run to take a quick 8-6 lead before stretching the lead to 11-7. West Chester started its comeback, making the score 11-9, before a 10-4 run by the Rams gave Shepherd a late 21-13 lead over the Golden Rams. West Chester countered with a 5-0 run of its own, trimming the deficit to 21-18 thanks in part to a pair of aces by Borgerding and a kill by
Hailey Lewis (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West). Shepherd closed out the match on a 4-1 run to take the third set by a final of 25-19 and win the match by a 3-0 final.
Brynn Dreisbach (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) led the team in kills with seven, while fellow freshman
Elise Smith (New Market, Md./Oakdale) finished with six of her own in the setback.
Megan St. Jean (Eaton, Co./Eaton) led the way in assists with 12, also being second on the team in digs with eight, while
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton) finished with ten digs of her own to help lead the Golden Rams in that category.
Borgerding led the team in aces with four in the match, while
Ali Miller (Enola, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and St. Jean each added one ace of their own. Smith led the team in blocks with three, while Lewis added two blocks of her own to help the Golden Rams in their 2022 season finale.
