WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University women's volleyball team (11-12, 3-6) kicked off its November slate with a home matchup against PSAC East rival Lock Haven (5-14, 3-6) inside Hollinger Field House on Friday night. In need of a victory to keep its PSAC Tournament aspirations alive for at least another day, West Chester saw a pair of late first and fourth-set leads evaporate but found a way to post a crucial 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 26-24, 20-25, 15-12).
Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) had a career-night in the victory, finishing with 20 kills, while
Anna Richardson (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) added 13 of her own in the five-set victory.
Julia Kwitchoff (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Wheatfield) had a hand in nine blocks, while
Zoe Brown (Merion Station, Pa./Lower Merion) led the team in aces with three.
Lacie brown (Cochranville, Pa./Avon Grove) led the way in assists with 47 while ranking second on the team in digs with 12, trailing only
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton), who finished the match with 14.
West Chester traded points with Lock Haven through the early going of the first set until a 4-0 West Chester run gave the hosts a commanding 19-13 lead late in the set. Lock Haven began mounting a comeback bid and cut the deficit to 21-17 late in the set, prompting the first West Chester timeout of the opening set. Out of the timeout, Lock Haven continued its comeback bid, winning the first point via an ace and continuing its rally from this point as the Bald Eagles roared back to even the first set at 22-22. West Chester took its second timeout of the set at this point in an attempt to regain momentum, but Lock Haven continued its impressive comeback, grabbing a 24-22 lead late in the opening set.
Anna Richardson (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) kept the first set going with an important kill, which cut the deficit to 24-23 and forced the second Lock Haven timeout of the first set. Richardson's kill only extended the opening set by a point as the Bald Eagles closed it out with Gracelynn Wolzen's fifth kill of the opening set to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
West Chester jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the second set once again before Lock Haven answered back with a 10-5 run to take a 14-12 lead midway through the set. West Chester answered with a 5-3 run of its own, which prompted a Bald Eagle timeout, with West Chester holding a 19-17 lead. Lock Haven rallied back to tie the set at 20-20, which forced a Golden Ram timeout. West Chester came out of the timeout well, rattling off three straight points to take a 23-20 lead and force another Lock Haven timeout.
Julia Kwitchoff (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Wheatfield) moved West Chester to within a point of evening the match at 1-1, and Richardson completed the comeback with a quick kill, which tied the game at 1-1.
West Chester followed an all too familiar script in the third set, racing out to an 11-6 lead before watching its lead methodically erased as Lock Haven battled back to tie the set at 11-11. West Chester answered with a 3-0 run to retake a 14-11 lead. West Chester stretched its lead to 19-15 before a 4-0 Bald Eagle run tied the set at 19-19. West Chester went on a 4-1 run to take a 23-20 lead, but Lock Haven continued to battle, cutting the lead to 23-22, which forced the second Golden Ram timeout of the set.
Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) brought West Chester to within a point of winning the back-and-forth third set, which featured five ties and a lead change, but it required extra points for West Chester to take a 2-1 lead, winning the third-set by a 26-24 final after a pair of Lock Haven errors.
Trailing 3-0 to open the set, West Chester won eight of the next nine points to grab an 8-4 lead and prompt an LHU timeout. West Chester continued its strong fourth-set performance, taking a 16-10 lead late, which forced the visitors to burn their second timeout of the set. The timeout did its job initially, halting the run temporarily, but a Haines kill made sure this would not last long, returning the serve to West Chester with a 17-11 lead. West Chester stretched the lead to 20-13 before Lock Haven started another run, trimming the lead to 20-15, which forced a West Chester timeout. The timeout did little to halt the Lock Haven momentum as the Bald Eagles continued their comeback bid, cutting the lead to 20-19, which forced West Chester to take its second timeout. Suddenly unable to match the Bald Eagles, the Golden Rams found themselves trailing 24-20 late in the set as the Bald Eagles used an improbable 11-0 run to seize control of the fourth set. West Chester allowed the match to go to a decisive fifth set after a late error, which allowed Lock Haven to capture the set by a 25-20 final.
West Chester and Lock Haven traded points early but West Chester snuck out to an 8-5 lead at the changeover. This lead also disappeared as quickly as it came as Lock Haven won the first three points after changing sides until a Richardson kill gave West Chester the serve and lead back at 9-8 and eventually extended its advantage to 11-9, forcing an LHU timeout. West Chester stretched its lead to 13-10 and, for a moment, appeared as if it would take a 14-10 lead, but a replay was awarded after a collision between a line judge and a Lock Haven player. This replay gave the Bald Eagles a new lease on life as the visitors won the next two points to cut the deficit to 13-12 and force a West Chester timeout. Haines got West Chester to match point with an important kill, and an
Amanda Redding (San Marino, Ca./San Marino) block closed it out as the Golden Rams escaped with a 15-12 victory to win the five-set thriller.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action tomorrow afternoon vs Bloomsburg beginning at 1 p.m.
