ROCKVILLE CENTER, N.Y.- Abiah Lane (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) logged a career-high 17 kills as the West Chester University women's volleyball team (4-1) battled back from two sets down before falling to Molloy (5-1) by a 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 21-25, 15-12) final on Friday night.
Lane was one of two Golden Rams with double-digit kills in the setback as
Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) logged 12 of her own in the setback.
West Chester found itself trailing in a match for the first time this season and trailed 2-0 but remained unfazed, battling back to win the third and the fourth set before a late fifth-set run lifted the host Lions to a 3-2 victory over the Golden Rams.
West Chester jumped out to a 15-11 lead in the first set before Molloy called a timeout, which sparked a 9-0 Lion to run to take a 20-15 lead over the visiting Golden Rams. West Chester countered with a timeout of its own, but Molloy escaped the opening set with a 25-21 victory to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Trailing in a match for the first time this season, West Chester battled throughout the early going of the second set and trailed by just two (13-11) at the midway point of the second set. Molloy went on a small run but West Chester battled back and tied the set at 16-16 after a block by
Lacie Brown (Cochranville, Pa./Avon Grove) and
Julia Kwitchoff (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Wheatfield) put an exclamation mark on a furious 5-0 run, which also included kills by Kwitchoff and
Lexy Caltabiano (Woolwich Twp, N.J./GCIT). Unfortunately, Molloy found its footing again quickly, closing out the set on a 9-6 run, despite a late 3-1 run by WCU to capture the set by a 25-22 score and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, Molloy took an early lead and held this advantage at 11-8 early in the third set. A Molloy service error followed by a kill by Brown got West Chester back to within a point at 14-13, and the Golden Rams remained close as the set continued, trailing by just three (19-16) entering the late stages. A
Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban) block kept the comeback bid going as she cut the Molloy lead to 19-17, forcing another timeout by the Lions. Out of the timeout, Molloy committed another error and Haines picked up a kill to tie the set at 19-19 before the two teams traded points again to tie the set at 20-20. A Caltabiano kill closed out the third-set comeback victory as West Chester won five of the last eight points to win the set 25-23 and force a fourth set.
Riding the momentum of the third-set comeback, West Chester broke open a 10-9 lead midway through the set with an 8-4 run to take an 18-13 lead following an ace by Kwitchoff.
Abiah Lane (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) closed out the set with a kill, giving West Chester a 25-21 fourth set victory and tying the match at 2-2.
In the decisive fifth set, West Chester and Molloy traded points throughout the early going, but West Chester was first to eight points, taking an 8-7 lead after a kill by Lane, her 16
th of the evening. Eager to avoid a reverse sweep, Molloy went on a 2-0 run to take an 11-10 lead over the Golden Rams, forcing a WCU timeout. The Lions run continued out of the timeout as the hosts won the next two points to take a 13-10 lead and force another Golden Ram timeout. Lane's 17
th kill brought West Chester back to within two (13-11) out of the timeout, but Molloy closed out the set by a 15-12 final to hold on for a narrow 3-2 victory on Friday night.
Brown led West Chester in assists with 47, while Lane,
Bria Stepp (Cranberry Twp, Pa./Seneca Valley) and
Elianna Freeman (Jersey Village, Tx./Jersey Village) tied for the team lead in digs with 15 each. Lane also led the Golden Rams in aces with two in the setback.
Lane also tied with Kwitchoff for the team lead in blocks with 3.5.
Julia Zalta was one of three Molloy players to record double-digit kills in the win over the Golden Rams on Friday night, finishing with 20, while Isabella Rios and Haven Trechter logged 14 and 12, respectively.
Despite the setback, West Chester out-hit its hosts, finishing the match hitting .216, while Molloy hit just .199.
The Golden Rams' best hitting performance of the night came in the fourth set when the team hit .423 (13-2-26) to force the fifth set.
Up Next
West Chester will be back in action on Saturday in a tri-match at Goldey Beacom against the Lightning and St. Thomas Aquinas, beginning at 11 a.m.
