PHILADELPHIA, Pa.-The West Chester women's volleyball team (13-2) took a brief break from PSAC East action on Wednesday evening for a non-league match at Chestnut Hill (7-9), falling to the host Griffins by a final of 3-1 (25-23, 27-25, 26-28, 25-14).
In the first set, West Chester and Chestnut Hill traded points throughout the early going of the match before West Chester went on a quick 6-1 run to take a 11-6 lead and prompt a Chestnut Hill timeout nearing the midway point of the opening set. Out of the timeout, West Chester continued to extend its lead, capturing the first two points following the timeout to extend the lead to 13-6 before Chestnut Hill countered with a run of its own to make the score 15-14 in the opening set.
Elise Smith (New Market, Md./Oakdale) halted the Griffin run with a kill and sparked a 3-0 Golden Ram run, extending the lead to 18-14 and prompting the second Chestnut Hill timeout of the first set. The first set remained close following the timeout, but it was Chestnut Hill who erased the deficit and took the first set by a 25-23 final.
The second set followed a similar story to that of the first, West Chester and Chestnut Hill traded runs throughout and West Chester led for most of the set after a 5-0 run early in the set, which allowed the Golden Rams to take a 9-6 lead. Chestnut Hill stayed within striking distance throughout the second set and eventually took a 19-18 lead, prompting a West Chester timeout. The Golden Rams took back-to-back points following the timeout to take a slim 20-19 lead late in the set. West Chester eventually took a 24-22 lead in the set, following a
Tori Wright (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) kill but Chestnut Hill answered back with a quick 2-0 run to extend the set, leading to the second Golden Ram timeout of the set. West Chester and Chestnut Hill traded points out of the timeout, but it was Chestnut Hill who escaped with a 27-25 second set victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
In need of a third-set victory to extend the match, West Chester opened the third with a 3-1 run thanks in part to a pair of
Hailey Lewis (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) kills before Chestnut Hill went on a 4-2 run to even the set at 5-5. The Griffins continued this run, eventually taking a 7-5 lead over the Golden Rams. The two sides continued to trade runs through the set as neither team was able to take a substantial lead, which led to the match being tied at 16-16 entering the late stages of the set. From this point, West Chester went on a 6-2 run to take a 22-18 late in the third set and prompt a Chestnut Hill timeout. Following the timeout, West Chester continued its run as a
Jillian Borgerding (Highlands Ranch, Co./Highlands Ranch) kill made the score 23-18 before Chestnut Hill was able to halt the run. As it had in the first two sets, Chestnut Hill clawed its way back into the third set, eventually evening the score at 24-24. From this point, West Chester took its
turn to take the extended set victory, winning the third set by a 28-26 final to trim the deficit to 2-1 and force a fourth set.
After taking the third set to extend the match, West Chester jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the fourth set before Chestnut Hill countered with a 8-2 run to take a 10-7 lead. Chestnut Hill continued to extend its advantage, eventually leading 15-9 midway through the set, which led to a West Chester timeout. Chestnut Hill eventually earned a 25-14 fourth-set victory to take the match by a final of 3-1.
Wright led the team in kills with 13 on the night while
Jamie Byrne (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) finished with 40 assists to go along with eight digs.
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton) logged 15 digs while Borgerding posted a team-best three aces in the setback.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action inside Hollinger Field House this weekend with a pair of pivotal PSAC East battles against Shepherd on Friday night and Shippensburg on Saturday afternoon.
