MILLERSVILLE, Pa.- The West Chester women's volleyball team returned to action on Friday afternoon at the Millersville Tournament opposite Nyack and Fairmont State, West Chester cruised to a victory over Nyack by a final of 3-0 (25-9, 25-20, 25-11) before falling to Fairmont State by a final of 3-0 (25-16, 27-25, 25-16) in the nightcap to go 1-1 on the day and move to 6-1 on the year.
Match 1: WCU 3 Nyack 0
West Chester wasted little time jumping out to an early lead, outscoring Nyack 10-2 through the first 12 points en route to a 25-9 first set victory, which saw the Purple and Gold hit .304 en route to the opening-set triumph.
The second set brought with it a much closer match as Nyack took three of the first four points before West Chester was able to come back and even the set at 11-11. With the set tied at 11-11, West Chester went on a 7-3 run to take an 18-14 lead before Nyack stormed back to even the set at 19-19. With the second set tied at 19-all, West Chester took six of the next seven points to earn a 25-20 second victory and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
West Chester and Nyack traded points through the early going of the third set once again with Nyack holding a slim 6-5 lead early in the set. West Chester went on an 11-1 run from this point to take a commanding 16-6 lead before cruising to a third-set victory by a 25-11 final to take the match by a final of 3-0. West Chester saved its best hitting performance of the day for the third set, hitting .360 on the set with 12 kills on 25 attacks to earn the victory and end the match with a .274 hitting percentage.
Brynn Dreisbach (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) led the way in kills with eight while teammate
Tori Wright (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) finished with six kills of her own in the win.
Megan St. Jean (Eaton, Co./Eaton) led the way in both assists and digs, finishing with 19 assists and 10 digs while
Jillian Borgerding (Highlands Ranch, Co./Highlands Ranch) ended with a team-best eight aces.
Match 2: Fairmont State 3 West Chester 0
In the second match of the afternoon, Fairmont State jumped out to an early lead, surging ahead 7-2 in the early going of the first set before West Chester mounted a comeback effort and eventually trimmed the gap to just two points (17-15) late in the set. Fairmont State closed out the opening set victory with a 8-1 run to take the first set by a 25-16 final and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Trailing in a match for the first time this season, West Chester battled in the second set and held an early lead at 8-4 and carried this lead until the midway point of the set, holding a 14-13 advantage at that point. West Chester was able to retake the lead at 22-21 but it was Fairmont State who closed the set on a 6-3 run to take the set by a 27-25 final and grab a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, Fairmont State wasted little time in getting out to a commanding lead, eventually holding a 19-6 advantage late in the set. West Chester mounted a small comeback, trimming the deficit to 22-15 and later 23-16 but the Falcons held on for a 25-16 third set victory and a 3-0 win in the match.
As a team, West Chester hit just .037 on the match and was led by a seven-kill effort from Dreisbach.
Jamie Byrne (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) led the way in assists with 18 while
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton) posted a team-best nine digs, which was matched by Byrne in the setback.
Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) also added a pair of blocks to lead the team in this category in the setback.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action tomorrow for another two matches vs Frostburg State and Chestnut Hill with those matches beginning at 2 and 5 p.m., respectively.
