WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) tied for the match lead in kills with 14 but it was not enough to lead the West Chester University women's volleyball team (13-14, 5-8) to an upset victory over Shepherd (22-4, 13-0) as the Rams escaped by a 3-1 (21-25, 25-14, 27-25, 25-17) final.
West Chester jumped out to an early 5-2 lead and stretched its lead to 18-12, entering the waning moments of the first set. Shepherd countered with a 3-0 run, which forced the first Golden Ram timeout of the frame. West Chester stretched its lead to 23-16 late in the set before Shepherd answered with another 4-0 run to cut the Golden Ram lead to 23-20 late, forcing the second WCU timeout. West Chester closed out a 25-21 first-set victory with a team block by
Anna Richardson (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) and
Amanda Redding (San Marino, Ca./San Marino).
In the second set, Shepherd jumped out to a 10-4 lead, forcing a Golden Ram timeout in an attempt to halt the early run by the visiting Rams. The timeout worked well as West Chester responded with a 7-3 run, including a 4-0 run out of the timeout to cut the deficit to 13-11. Shepherd went on a 3-0 run from this point, stretching its lead back to 16-11, which led to the second Golden Ram timeout of the set. Shepherd closed the second set out quickly, outscoring West Chester 9-3 down the stretch to even the match up with a 25-14 second-set triumph.
West Chester jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the third set before stretching its lead to 14-7 as the Golden Rams forced Shepherd to take both of its timeouts early in the set. Shepherd went on a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 14-10 following its second timeout, which forced the Golden Rams to take their first timeout of the third set. Shepherd continued its comeback bid following this timeout, trimming the WCU lead to 17-16, which forced head coach
Kassie Bellaver and the Golden Rams to take their second timeout of the third set. Shepherd completed its third-set comeback bid with a block to close out a 27-25 third-set victory and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Shepherd took an early lead in the fourth set and never wavered once it got out to its lead, rolling to a 25-17 fourth-set victory and a 3-1 win in the match.
CeCe Isenberg (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) posted ten kills and Richardson added 11 of her own in the Golden Rams ill-fated upset bid.
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton) finished with 15 digs, while Richardson registered a double-double with 12 of her own.
Lacie Brown (Cochranville, Pa./Avon Grove) led West Chester in digs with 16 while logging 35 assists to post another double-double in a strong season for the junior transfer.
Joi Fairweather led Shepherd in kills with 14, while Amya Davis chipped in 12 of her own in the victory. Macy Buso led the match in assists with 46, while Harli Zeitz finished with a match-high 30 digs to help quiet the Golden Ram offense.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday afternoon against Shippensburg beginning at 1 p.m.
