WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Buoyed by a hard-fought five-set victory over Millersville to open PSAC East play on Wednesday evening, the West Chester University women's volleyball team (6-3) picked up a 3-0 non-league victory over Pace (7-2) in Hollinger Field House on Saturday afternoon.
West Chester needed little to get a lead in the first set, roaring ahead to an 11-4 lead early, thanks partly to a pair of aces by
Jamie Byrne (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty). Pace cut into the Golden Rams lead quickly, answering with an 8-2 run, which moved the score to 14-12 in favor of the Golden Rams midway through the set. This was as close as West Chester would allow its guests to get in the opening set, pulling away again and never looking back en route to a 25-15 first-set victory.
In the second set, West Chester and Pace traded points throughout the early going before West Chester went on another run to take a 16-10 lead, following back-to-back kills by
Abiah Lane (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) and
Nicole Dimiris (Hockessin, Del./Saint Marks). Pace mounted a comeback late in the set, pulling back to 22-21 in the late stages, but West Chester stretched its lead to 2-0 in the match by closing the set on a 3-1 run, punctuated by a
Tori Wright (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) kill to close out the 25-22 second-set victory.
The third set remained close throughout, with the two sides trading points and runs as neither side was able to get a lead larger than three points until Wright closed out the match with her sixth kill of the afternoon, lifting West Chester to a 25-21 third-set victory and a 3-0 win in the match.
Lane led the team in kills with seven, while
Hailey Lewis (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) and Wright finished with six each. Aces were another key for West Chester on Saturday afternoon, finishing the match with 11 as a team, led by four each from Byrne and
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton). Byrne also led the team in assists, finishing with 17, while Heffner led the way in digs, finishing with 11 in the three-set victory.
Daniella Abbastante led the way offensively for Pace, finishing with a match-high eight kills, while Georgette Consentino ended her afternoon with 24 assists in the setback.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Wednesday night at Wilmington beginning at 7 p.m. before returning home to host Kutztown and East Stroudsburg on the weekend in what will be the team's final home matches until October 11 against Chestnut Hill.
