WEST CHESTER, Pa.- After a thrilling five-set victory over Kutztown on Friday night, the West Chester University women's volleyball team (7-5, 2-1) remained home on Saturday afternoon for an alumni-day battle against rival East Stroudsburg (10-5, 3-0) West Chester battled throughout the match, but the visiting Warriors triumphed by a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-15) to hand the Golden Rams their first PSAC loss of the season.
West Chester raced out to an early lead in the opening set, leading 12-8 near the midway point before East Stroudsburg answered with a 5-0 run to erase the deficit and take a slim 13-12 lead. The Golden Rams responded quickly with another run of their own, pulling ahead to 18-14 late in the set, but the Warriors ended the opening frame on an 11-3 run to take a 25-21 first-set victory.
The second set followed a similar script for the Golden Rams as the hosts held a 16-11 lead midway through the set following a
Jamie Byrne (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) kill, but it was the Warriors again who closed out the set on a 14-4 run to claim a 2-0 lead in the match.
Hoping to duplicate its impressive rally from a night ago, which saw the Golden Rams win the final three sets to take a 3-2 victory away from Kutztown, the Warriors showed they would have none of this, jumping ahead to an 18-9 lead en route to a 25-15 third-set victory.
Hailey Lewis (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) built off her strong effort from a night ago, leading the team in kills with nine while also contributing a big block to help slow the Warriors offensively. Byrne led the way in assists once again, finishing with 15, while
Megan St. Jean (Eaton, Co./Eaton) added 10 of her own in the setback.
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton) led the team in digs, finishing with a match-high 25, while also tying for the team lead in aces with two in the setback.
Anna Coulter impressed for East Stroudsburg on Saturday afternoon, ending the match with a match-high 13 kills and a .611 hitting percentage as Taylor Haan, who led the way in assists with 33, did a tremendous job distributing throughout the match. Haan also led the way in aces, finishing with two of her own to go along with 10 digs, trailing only Makayla Baca, who posted a team-high 22 digs in the victory.
Up Next:
West Chester will take to the road next weekend for a pair of matches at Lock Haven and Bloomsburg next Friday and Saturday night before making a quick stop home on October 11 to make up its match against Chestnut Hill, initially scheduled for Labor Day Weekend. After its game against Chestnut Hill, West Chester will find itself on the road for nearly two weeks, with its next home date not coming until October 23 against Caldwell beginning at 7 p.m.
