WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University women's volleyball team (2-2) returned to action on Wednesday night in non-league action against a resilient Jefferson (0-1) team. West Chester got out to an early 2-0 lead in the match, but the visiting Rams were far from finished, eventually forcing a fifth set, which the Golden Rams would eventually win by a 24-22 final to emerge from the marathon match victorious by a 3-2 (26-24, 25-17, 25-27, 23-25, 24-22) final.
Brynn Dreisbach (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) picked up the match's final and arguably most important two points this evening with a kill followed by an ace to close out the Golden Rams comeback fifth set (24-22) victory. Dreisbach impressed throughout the evening, finishing with a match-high 22 kills, which served as a new career-high, improving upon her previous high of 20, which she set in a five-set loss at Jefferson a season ago.
Tori Wright (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) was second on the team in kills, finishing with 13 in the victory.
Jamie Byrne (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) led the way in assists with 30, while sophomore
Megan St. Jean (Eaton, Co./Eaton) chipped in 21 of her own in the victory.
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton) led the team in digs with 27, while Dreisbach and Wright each recorded double-doubles with 12 and 15 digs, respectively.
In the first set, Jefferson jumped out to an early 10-8 lead before West Chester answered with a 5-2 run to take a 13-12 lead. The Golden Rams never relinquished their lead from this point, pulling ahead to a 20-15 following a Jefferson attack error. The Golden Rams maintained this lead over the next few points as West Chester pulled ahead to lead 22-17, prompting a timeout by the visiting Rams. Out of the timeout, the visitors countered with a 7-2 run to even the score at 24-24, but the Golden Rams closed out the set with back-to-back kills by
Brynn Dreisbach (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) and Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) to win the first set by a 26-24 final.
The two sides traded points throughout the early going of the second set before a 3-0 run by the Golden Rams, which included a block by Dreisbach and
Nicole Dimiris (Hockessin, Del./St. Marks) and an ace by
Jamie Byrne (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) gave the Golden Rams a 6-3 lead in the early going. West Chester extended its lead to 11-5 in the early stages of the set, prompting a quick Jefferson timeout. Out of the timeout, Jefferson countered with a 4-0 run before a
Hailey Lewis (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) kill restored order and gave West Chester a 12-9 advantage. This kill sparked a 6-1 run by the Purple and Gold as the hosts jumped out to a 17-10 lead entering the late stages of the set. West Chester continued to extend its lead, stretching the advantage to 19-11, following an ace by
Abiah Lane (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion), which prompted the second Jefferson timeout of the set. The Jefferson timeout initially accomplished its goal as it halted the Golden Ram run and allowed the visitors to counter with a 3-0 run, prompting a West Chester timeout. Following the timeout, West Chester closed out a 25-17 second-set victory to take a 2-0 lead.
Jefferson raced out to an 11-5 lead to open the third set, prompting a quick West Chester timeout. Desperate to extend the match and force a fourth set, Jefferson extended its lead to 14-7, prompting the second West Chester timeout of the set. The second timeout of the set succeeded in halting the Ram's momentum as West Chester quickly trimmed the deficit to 15-13, following a kill by
Breanna Craig (West Chester, Pa./Henderson), which prompted a Jefferson timeout. The visiting Rams settled down after the timeout, extending their lead back to 19-13. West Chester went on an 8-4 run from this point to claw back into the set and prompt another Jefferson timeout with the score at 23-21 in favor of the visitors. West Chester continued its run out of the timeout with back-to-back aces by
Lexi Niedrowski (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson). With the score even at 24-24,
Tori Wright (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) came through with a cross-court kill to give West Chester a 25-24 lead. The Rams countered with a kill of their own, extending the match for at least two more points. Jefferson followed this up with another kill to sneak ahead to a 26-25 lead, eventually winning the set by a 27-25 final to force a fourth set.
Following its third-set victory, Jefferson appeared energized as the Rams jumped out to an early lead and rode this early advantage to a 25-23 fourth-set victory, which forced a decisive fifth set.
Jefferson and West Chester traded points early before the Golden Rams went on a run to take a 6-3 lead over the visiting Rams. Jefferson battled back into the set, evening the score at 9-9, forcing the Golden Rams to burn a timeout. Jefferson continued its run, eventually taking an 11-9 lead, leading to another Golden Ram timeout. Following the timeout, West Chester evened the score at 11-11. The two sides continued trading runs before a Haines kill gave the hosts a slim 15-14 lead, prompting the final Jefferson timeout of the evening. The two sides continued to trade points, with neither team appearing willing to surrender the final point necessary for the other to escape victorious. West Chester took a 23-22 lead with a kill by Dreisbach before closing it out moments later with an ace by Dreisbach to escape with a 24-22 victory over Jefferson on Wednesday evening.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to the court on Friday night vs Pitt-Johnstown beginning at 6 p.m.
