WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Maeve Gallagher (Pottstown, Pa./Pope John Paul II) tied with
Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) for the team lead in kills with 10 each to help lead the West Chester University women's volleyball team (12-3) to a 3-1(25-10, 25-23, 19-25, 25-18) victory over Felician (5-11) on Wednesday evening.
West Chester trailed only briefly in the first set as Felician won the first two points before West Chester answered back with a 14-0 run to take a 14-2 lead en route to a 25-10 first-set victory.
Megan Wolfe (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove) was a key piece of the dominant first-set, picking up three quick aces during the 14-0 run early in the set.
West Chester jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second set before Felician countered with a 4-1 run to cut the lead to 5-4. West Chester built up a 17-12 lead and was the first team to 20, holding a 20-14 lead before a 3-0 Felician run cut the lead to 20-17 and forced a Golden Ram timeout. The timeout worked initially as the Golden Rams took a 23-19 lead before Felician went on another 3-0 run to cut the lead to 23-22 and force the second West Chester timeout of the set. Felician tied the set at 23-23 before
Lacie brown (Cochranville, Pa./Avon Grove) restored order with a kill, and
Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) squashed the comeback bid with a final kill of her own to lift West Chester to a 25-23 second-set victory.
Felician got out to an early lead in the third set, and while the Golden Rams battled back to tie the score consistently throughout the set, the Golden Falcons were first to 20 and carried a 21-17 lead late in the set, which forced a quick WCU timeout. After the timeout, Felician held off the West Chester comeback bid for a 25-19 third set victory, forcing a fourth set.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair throughout the early going, but West Chester held a 20-16 lead late in the set, which prompted a Felician timeout after a
Lexy Caltabiano (Woolwich Twp, N.J./GCIT). Felician made a late run, but West Chester closed out the match with a combo from
Julia Kwitchoff (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Wheatfield) and Gallagher to win the set by a 25-18 final and the match by a 3-1 final.
Wolfe finished the match with the team lead in aces with three of the Golden Rams' eight on the night, while Brown led the team in assists and digs with 22 and 12 for a double-double.
Elianna Freeman (Jersey Village, TX/Jersey Village) was second on the team in digs with 11, while
Bria Stepp (Cranberry Twp., PA/Seneca Valley) was second in assists with 18. Stepp, who has been among the team leaders in aces for the last month, also registered a pair of aces in the victory.
Kwitchoff led the team in blocks as she had a hand in nine of the 12 blocks on the night.
West Chester hit .202 as a team and hit north of .100 in every set, but was never able to duplicate its .500 hitting percentage in the first set, which saw the team record 12 kills on 22 swings with just one error.
Felician hit just .066, including a -.156 effort in the fourth set, committing 11 errors with just six kills on 32 swings. Sandra Galas was a standout for the Golden Falcons, registering 17 kills along with seven aces and a pair of block assists. Caydence Franz led the team in assists with 16, while Kayden Mallette led the team in digs with 14.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action at home this weekend against Bloomsburg and Lock Haven.
