WILMINGTON, Del.- Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) recorded a career and match-high 17 kills, including two to close out the match to help lead the West Chester University women's volleyball team (2-3) to a 3-1 victory over Goldey-Beacom (1-3) on Tuesday night in Delaware.
Lacie Brown (Cochranville, Pa./Avon Grove) led the team in assists with 25, while
Megan St. Jean (Eaton, Co./Eaton) finished with 17 assists of her own. Brown also led the team in digs with 11, while
Sydney Heffner (Bath, Pa./Northampton) chipped in 10 digs as well.
West Chester hit .287 in the victory, including a solid .391 in the first set and .364 in the fourth to avoid a losing streak.
West Chester and Goldey-Beacom traded points throughout the early going as the Golden Rams inched their way out to an 11-8 lead after a
Meg Wolfe (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove) kill. West Chester went on a 9-4 run from this point, thanks in part to a pair of kills and a block by rookie
Anna Richardson (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna). Leading 20-12 late in the set, West Chester closed out the set well, withstanding a late run by the Lightning to capture the set by a 25-17 final, closing out the set with a
Macey Baum (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) service ace.
In the second set, West Chester raced out to an early 8-3 lead after a
Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) kill, and despite a 13-9 run by Goldey-Beacom rolled to a 25-20 second set victory, closing out the set on a 3-0 run with kills by Wolfe and Haines to punctuate the run.
Goldey-Beacom showed its fight in the third set, trading points early on to keep the score tied at 7-7 before a 12-5 run, which gave the hosts a 19-12 lead late in the set. Looking to avoid a fourth set, West Chester went on a 5-2 run, which cut the deficit to 21-17. The Golden Rams continued their furious comeback bid, cutting the deficit to 22-19 after another kill by Haines, her 12th of the night, and a Lightning attack error prompted a late Goldey-Beacom timeout. The late timeout seemed to do its job as the hosts closed the set on a 3-1 run to force a fourth set.
West Chester opened the fourth set by winning seven of the first nine points of the set before stretching this lead to 18-5, thanks in part to three kills in a four-point span by
Julia Kwitchoff (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Wheatfield). The hosts continued to battle back in the fourth, cutting the deficit to 20-12, prompting a timeout by the Golden Rams. Out of the timeout, West Chester and Goldey-Beacom traded points, but the Golden Rams used their large lead to close out a 25-16 fourth-set victory and win the match by a 3-1 final.
For Goldey-Beacom, Piper Nanouski and Caitlyn Burch led in kills with 13 each, while Ada Koksal registered a match-high 41 helpers in the loss. Gaby Fernandez led the Lightning in digs, finishing with 24 in the setback in an attempt to slow the potent Golden Ram attack.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action on Friday night at Dominican (N.Y.) beginning at 6 p.m. before visiting with Chestnut Hill on Saturday afternoon.
