WEST CHESTER, Pa.-Abiah Lane (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) led West Chester in kills with 13 on 27 swings.
Ashlyn Oswald (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) chipped in two of her own to help lead the West Chester University women's volleyball team (8-1) to a 3-0 victory over Caldwell (0-9) on Friday night in Hollinger Field House.
Caldwell jumped out to an early 6-1 lead, but West Chester battled back to tie the set at 7-7. No sooner did the Golden Rams erase the early deficit than did Caldwell go on another run to take a 13-9 lead. West Chester countered with a 7-0 run to take a 16-13 lead before winning six of the following nine points to take a 22-16 lead and force another Caldwell timeout. West Chester got its lead to 24-16 before Caldwell went on a 4-0 run to cut the Golden Ram advantage to 24-20, which prompted a quick Golden Ram timeout. The Caldwell run continued out of the timeout as suddenly West Chester saw its lead cut to just one (24-23), which forced the second and final Golden Ram timeout of the first set.
Julia Kwitchoff (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Wheatfield) restored order with her first kill of the night to close out the set with a 25-23 victory.
West Chester took an early lead in the second set and eventually stretched its lead to 18-14, which prompted the first Caldwell timeout of the second set. West Chester took a 20-16 lead before Caldwell won two quick points to cut the Golden Rams' lead to two and force a West Chester timeout. Caldwell managed to tie the set at 20-20 before West Chester went on a 4-1 run, which included a pair of kills and an ace by Lane to take a 24-21 lead and force the second Caldwell timeout of the set. West Chester closed out the set with a block with Kwitchoff and
Maeve Gallagher (Pottstown, Pa./Pope John Paul II).
West Chester raced out to an early lead in the third set, jumping ahead 6-2 early in the set. Caldwell took a 17-16 lead over the Golden Rams late in the set, mounting an impressive comeback before a 6-0 West Chester run gave the hosts a 22-17 lead and forced the second and final Caldwell timeout of the set. The timeout succeeded in halting the West Chester run, which had been keyed by a pair of kills by Gallagher as Caldwell cut the lead to 22-19 and forced West Chester to burn a timeout. West Chester closed out the set by a 25-22 final with a
Brooke Forester (Langhorne, Pa./Conwell Egan) kill serving as the exclamation point on the three-set triumph.
West Chester hit .270 for the match, including a .312 (16-6-32) effort in the second set, while Caldwell hit .228, including a .333 (10-3-21) effort in the second set.
West Chester recorded 11 aces in the victory, including four each from
Bria Stepp (Cranberry Twp, Pa./Seneca Valley) and
Megan Wolfe (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove).
Stepp also recorded 17 assists, while
Lacie Brown (Cochranville, Pa./Avon Grove) picked up a match-high 22 in the victory.
Lane and
Elianna Freeman (Jersey Village, TX/Jersey Village) tied for the team lead in digs with eight each.
Up Next
West Chester will have a well-deserved weekend off before jumping into league play next Wednesday night vs Millersville, beginning at 7 p.m.
