WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Brynn Dreisbach (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) and
Abiah Lane (Admore, Pa./Lower Merion) led the Golden Rams in kills with 13 and 12, respectively to help guide the West Chester University women's volleyball team (7-4, 2-0) to a thrilling 3-2 (20-25, 22-25, 25-14, 25-18, 15-8) victory over Kutztown (7-7, 0-2) in Hollinger Field House on Friday night.
Dreisbach and Lane were two of three Golden Rams to finish the evening in double figures for kills as
Hailey Lewis (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) also added 10 kills. West Chester also had a stellar night defensively, finishing the match with 33 blocks, including three solo blocks and nine block assists by sophomore
Nicole Dimiris (Hockessin, Del./St. Marks). Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton) and
Tori Wright (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) also had strong nights at the service line, finishing with three aces each in the victory.
After hitting sub .200 in the first two sets of the match, West Chester greatly improved its hitting performance down the stretch, hitting .222 in the third set, a match-best .375 in the fourth, and .364 in the fifth to complete the comeback on Friday night.
With the score locked at 6-5 in the early stages of the fifth set,
Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) picked up a significant kill, sparking a quick 3-0 Golden Ram run, which saw the hosts take a 9-5 lead over the Golden Bears. Kutztown halted the run with a Sadie Doss kill, but Lewis ensured Kutztown would not go on a run, answering back with a kill of her own, which sparked another 3-0 run by the Golden Rams, giving the hosts a 12-6 lead in the fifth. Kutztown showed its fight in the late stages, countering with a pair of quick points, including an ace, which prompted the first West Chester timeout of the decisive fifth set. The timeout did its job as West Chester came out of the timeout quickly and closed out the match with a 3-0 run to take a 15-8 fifth-set victory and win the match by a 3-2 final.
In the fourth set, West Chester and Kutztown traded points throughout much of the frame, finding themselves tied at 13-13 at the midway point. A
Lexi Niedrowski (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) ace gave West Chester a 14-13 lead, and the Golden Rams never relinquished this advantage, eventually pulling away for a 25-18 fourth-set victory, which forced the decisive, winner-take-all fifth set.
Eager to extend the match, West Chester jumped out to an early lead in the third set, pulling ahead to an 8-1 advantage in the early stages. With a seven-point advantage, West Chester was able to withstand a Kutztown run that cut the lead to 13-9. West Chester answered with another 5-0 run, stretching its lead to 18-9 en route to a 25-14 third-set victory.
Jamie Byrne (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) led the team in assists with 22, while
Megan St. Jean (Eaton, Co./Eaton) added 15 of her own to help guide the Golden Ram offense throughout the evening. Heffner led the team in digs with 15, while St. Jean registered a double-double, also chipping in 11 digs in the comeback victory.
For Kutztown, the Golden Bears started the match strong, hitting a blistering .469 in the first set to take the opener by a 25-20 final but slowed down the stretch, hitting just -.105 in the third set, .094 in the fourth, and .000 in the fifth set as the Golden Rams completed their comeback.
Gabriela Fialova had a massive night for Kutztown, finishing with 26 kills, while Sadie Doss added 17 kills of her own in the setback. Fialova also led the team in digs with 21, while Mallory Hoch led the way in aces with three to go along with 14 digs as one of three Golden Bears in double figures. Cat Farole was the third and final Kutztown player to finish with double figures in digs, finishing with 13, and posting a match-best 45 assists on Friday night.
Up Next:
West Chester will go for its third PSAC East win of the year tomorrow on Alumni Day against East Stroudsburg, with first serve in that contest set for 1 p.m. in Hollinger Field House.
