WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) led the team in kills with 16, while
Anna Richardson (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) chipped in 12 of her own to lead West Chester (10-11) to a gritty 3-2 (25-21, 19-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-11) victory over Queens (16-7) in front of a large Alumni Day crowd on Saturday in Hollinger.
Saturday afternoon's match was a true classic throughout the early afternoon in West Chester as it featured 20 ties and 10 lead changes with neither team ever dominating the match.
West Chester jumped out to an early lead in the first set and held a 19-11 lead late after a
Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) kill before Queens began its comeback bid. The visitors won each of the next four points, cutting the score to 19-15 and forcing the first WCU timeout of the afternoon. Queens continued its comeback bid, cutting the lead to 19-17 before cutting the deficit to 22-20 later in the set. West Chester closed out on a 3-1 run, finishing the set with a 25-22 victory after a
Lacie Brown (Cochranville, Pa./Avon Grove) kill to take a 1-0 lead.
West Chester jumped out to an early lead but Queens answered back and took a 9-6 lead early in the set, prompting a quick West Chester timeout. The timeout worked well for West Chester as the Golden Rams answered with an 8-4 run to take a 14-13 lead and force a Queens timeout. The two sides continued trading points out of the timeout but Queens snuck out to a 20-18 lead late in the set, forcing a second Golden Ram timeout. The Golden Rams continued to battle but the Knights escaped with a 25-19 second-set victory to even the match at 1-1.
After hitting just shy of .300 in the first set, West Chester hit just .132 in the second set as the visitors also improved their hitting percentage to tie the match at 1-1.
West Chester and Queens traded points throughout the early stages of the third set before West Chester went on a 3-1 run to take a commanding 17-13 lead and force a Queens timeout. Queens fought back and took an 18-17 lead but West Chester countered with another 3-0 run, including a kill and block by Haines to take a 20-18 lead and force another Queens timeout. The visiting Knights continued their comeback bid, rallying with a 4-2 run to even the third set at 22-22, which forced a Golden Ram timeout. Queens closed out the set on a 3-0 run to take the third set by a 25-22 final and a 2-1 lead in the match.
West Chester and Queens battled in the early stages of the fourth set but West Chester found its way out to a 20-15 lead late in the set, which forced Queens to take its first timeout in the hopes of rallying and avoiding a fifth set. The visitors went on a 4-2 run out of this timeout to cut the West Chester lead to 22-19 and force a Golden Ram timeout. West Chester forced a fifth set with a 25-21 fourth-set victory.
West Chester traded points early in the fourth set but roared out to an 8-5 lead. As the team's switched sides, West Chester won the ninth point after a long rally against an obviously rattled Queens side, leading to a Queens timeout. The Golden Rams continued to control the fifth set, stretching the lead to 13-7, which led to another Knights timeout as the visitors prolonged the match. Queens did mount a small comeback following this timeout, but West Chester did not allow its guests to come all the way back, holding off its New York foes for a 15-11 fifth-set victory and a thrilling 3-2 match win as a kill by Haines closed it out.
Brown led the way in assists with 37 and tied for the team lead in aces with
Macey Baum (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) with three each, while
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton) led in digs with 16. Brown also picked up 15 digs and eight kills for yet another double-double.
West Chester wreaked havoc on the Queens offense throughout the afternoon, not only digging well throughout the afternoon but also registering 14 blocks on the afternoon, led by
Julia Kwitchoff (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Wheafield) who ended the match with a solo block and seven combo blocks.
Madi Hathaway had an excellent day for Queens, finishing with a team-high 14 kills, 16 assists, and 12 digs in the setback.
Up Next:
West Chester is back in action on Monday evening at Georgian Court beginning at 6 p.m.
