MILLERSVILLE, Pa.- Looking to bounce back after suffering its first setback of the young season a day ago, the West Chester women's volleyball team (8-1) returned to the court on Saturday afternoon against Frostburg State and Chestnut Hill and earned a pair of 3-1 victories in each of those matches to improve to 9-1 on the young season.
Match 1: WCU 3 Frostburg State 1
West Chester jumped out to an early lead in the first set, going ahead 5-3 before Frostburg State responded with a 7-1 run to take a 10-6 lead early in the set. West Chester responded and trimmed the deficit to as few as two points but it was a late run by Frostburg, which allowed the Bobcats to take the opening set by a 25-21 final.
In the second set, West Chester found itself with an early deficit once again, trailing 12-6 before rattling off an 8-1 run of its own to take a 14-13 lead near the midway point of the set. The two sides traded points for the next few points but it was West Chester who closed out the set on a 6-3 run to capture the second set by a 25-22 final and even the match at 1-1.
With the match evened up at 1-1, West Chester used its momentum to open the third set with a 9-3 run en route to a 25-19 third set victory and 2-1 lead in the match.
Similarly to the opening three sets, West Chester and Frostburg State engaged in another tight set in the fourth, trading runs throughout but it was West Chester who was able to get some needed separation from the Bobcats en route to a 25-20 fourth set victory and 3-1 win in the match to improve to 7-1 on the year.
Allentown native
Brynn Dreisbach (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) turned in a stellar effort in this match, setting a new career-high in kills with 18 along with 10 digs while fellow lehigh-valley native
Jamie Byrne (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) finished with 40 assists to help lead the West Chester offense.
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton) logged 15 kills while also tying for the team lead in aces with
Jillian Borgerding (Eaton, Co./Eaton) and Lexi Niedrowski (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) with two aces each in the triumph. One of the Golden Rams senior captains
Hailey Lewis (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) also turned in a strong effort, finishing with a team-best three blocks while ranking second on the team in kills with 11.
As a team, West Chester hit .159 on the match, including a .244 hitting percentage effort in the third set victory while holding the Bobcats to a .136 hitting-percentage effort, including two sets of sub-.100 hitting-percentage (.063 & .082).
Match 2 WCU 3 Chestnut Hill 1
In the second match of the day, West Chester found itself in another tight battle, this time against the Griffins of Chestnut Hill. West Chester and Chestnut Hill traded runs throughout the first set, but it was West Chester who held a 23-19 late in the set. Chestnut Hill stormed back and managed to take a 24-23 lead before West Chester and Chestnut Hill resumed trading points once again before the Golden Rams took the final three points of the set, thanks in large part to a pair of kills from Dreisbach to escape with a 30-28 first-set victory.
Chestnut Hill responded in the second set, closing out the set on a 3-0 run of its own to take that set by a 26-24 final and even the match up at 1-1.
As the Golden Rams have for much of the season, West Chester responded to dropping the second set well, racing out to a 17-5 lead early in the set before cruising to a 25-9 third set victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.
West Chester followed a similar script in the fourth set, opening the proceedings on a 12-2 run before cruising to a 25-15 fourth-set victory and 3-1 match win to go 2-0 on the afternoon.
In this match, Dreisbach nearly matched her first match performance, finishing with 16 kills, 11 digs, and one block while
Tori Wright (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) finished with 14 kills of her own. Byrne logged 38 assists and 14 digs while Heffner finished with a team-high 20 digs while also tying with Borgerding for the team lead in aces with three in the four-set victory.
West Chester ended the match with a .282 hitting percentage, hitting north of .250 in all four sets, including a .302 effort in the first set victory. Chestnut Hill meanwhile, hit .317 in the first set and .255 in the second set but West Chester held the Griffins down nicely in the third and fourth sets, limiting them to .032 and .083 hitting percentages in each of those sets in the victory.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action next weekend at home once again with a tri-match opposite Nyack and Lincoln inside Hollinger Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.
