WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University women's volleyball team (8-7) returned to action on Wednesday night in a non-league match against Chestnut Hill (6-10). West Chester snapped its losing streak with an emphatic 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-16) victory over Chestnut Hill, giving head coach
Kassie Bellaver her 400
th career victory as a collegiate head coach.
Bellaver's 400
th career win on Wednesday night is inclusive of her career at West Chester (353-206) and the 47 wins she earned at the helm of her Alma Mater, La Roche, while serving as the head coach of the Redhawks from 2000-2005.
Lane had a big day for West Chester in the victory, finishing with a team-high 14 kills, while
Jamie Byrne (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) and
Megan St. Jean (Eaton, Co./Eaton) facilitated the offense throughout the evening, finishing with 22 and 17 assists, respectively. St. Jean also led the team in aces, finishing with two in the victory.
Chestnut Hill won the first two points of the match, but West Chester countered with a 7-0 run, including an ace by
Megan St. Jean (Eaton, Co./Eaton) to force an early Griffin timeout. West Chester continued its run out of the timeout, rattling off back-to-back blocks from
Nicole Dimiris (Hockessin, Del./St. Mark's) before Chestnut Hill began its comeback effort. The Griffins cut the deficit to 16-11 at the midway point of the set, prompting the first West Chester timeout of the set. Chestnut Hill continued to battle back late in the set, but a
Tori Wright (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) kill closed out the set with a 25-20 Golden Ram victory.
In the second set, West Chester and Chestnut Hill traded points throughout much of the early part of the set, but the Golden Rams held a 17-15 lead late in the set, prompting a Griffin timeout. West Chester won the first point out of the timeout, but Chestnut Hill responded with a 5-0 run to take a 20-18 lead and prompt a Golden Ram timeout. The two sides continued trading points down the stretch, but West Chester closed things out with a kill by
Abiah Lane (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
West Chester raced out to an early lead in the third set, jumping ahead to a 7-3 advantage, including an ace by
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton), which prompted a Chestnut Hill timeout. West Chester continued to extend its lead, taking a 16-7 lead entering the late stages of the set before Chestnut Hill began its comeback bid. The Griffins cut the Golden Rams lead to 18-13, prompting a late Golden Ram timeout to halt the run. The timeout did its job as the next serve went long to give WCU a 19-13 lead. The Golden Rams extended their lead down the stretch, eventually closing out the match with a 25-16 third-set victory.
Defensively, Heffner and
Brynn Dreisbach (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) led the way for West Chester, finishing with 11 digs each, while Byrne added seven of her own. Dimiris also turned in another stellar effort defensively, finishing with a match-high eight blocks in the victory.
Erika Dubosky led the way for Chestnut Hill offensively, finishing with a team-high 15 kills. Mia Caporellie chipped in 31 assists along with an ace to help keep the Griffins offense moving throughout the evening.
West Chester hit well throughout the night, finishing with a .278 hitting percentage, including a .400 effort in the opening set victory.
Up Next:
West Chester will jump back into PSAC East play this weekend with a visit to Shippensburg on Friday night at 7 p.m. before traveling to Shepherd on Saturday for a 4 p.m. start.
