With only three games left in the season, West Chester needs these last couple crucial wins to guarantee themselves a home game in the postseason.
The Rams’ first match up of the week was a non-league bout with Georgian Court. The team ventured to Lakewood, New Jersey for their third of eight straight road games.
The Rams handled the first set easily, taking it 25-10. Georgian Court put up a stronger effort for the subsequent two sets, but West Chester ended up taking the match, 25-10, 25-19, 25-19.
Lexi Kegerise had nine kills for the Golden Rams to go along with Julie Boblits’ six. Cara Reese also had six kills for West Chester. Helen Fitzpatrick assisted on 24 points and had 10 digs to register the double-double for West Chester. Kelly Martin served up five aces.
West Chester’s following game was a rematch with PSAC East rival, East Stroudsburg. Earlier in the season, West Chester had beaten the Warriors in straight sets. West Chester put together an exact mimic of that match, taking down the Warriors again in a three set sweep.
Kegerise led the Golden Rams with a team-high 13 kills. Martin had five blocks for West Chester while Reese had three.
Lisa Campbell had 20 digs for West Chester. Fitzpatrick had 21 assists, while Mary Faust contributed an additional 13. Boblits added nine kills to the stat charts in the win for the Golden Rams.
West Chester’s final match of the week would prove to be the most difficult. They found themselves matched up against PSAC East powerhouse, Lock Haven. The Eagles sit atop the PSAC East with a 13-4 conference record and a 16-8 overall record.
But after three straight wins, two of which came against conference rivals, West Chester had the confidence they needed to come out strong against Lock Haven.
West Chester started off strong and played close with Lock Haven, but they eventually dropped the first set 25-22. They were unable to recover in the second set, losing 25-20. Lock Haven’s momentum carried them through the third set as well as they knocked off the Golden Rams in straight sets, 25-22, 25-20, 25-19
Boblits had seven kills and Kegerise added six in the loss. Faust matched Fitzpatrick’s 11 assists, and Campbell recorded 10 digs.
Gao Xuan had a stand out game for the Eagles. She had 19 kills and hit .326.
The loss against Lock Haven gives West Chester a 7-9 conference record and a 19-12 overall record heading into the final week of the regular season.
With three games left in the season and a 7-9 conference record, West Chester can end their season with a winning record in the conference.
They finished their season with a double header against Cheyney. They will travel down the street to play the cross-town rivals on Nov. 1.
They will then wrap up the regular season when they are finally able to come back home for a finale in Hollinger Field House. They will host Kutztown on Nov. 5 who beat the Golden Rams in straight sets earlier in the season.
The Golden Rams will then have three days to prepare for the PSAC quarterfinals, which start on Nov. 8 at a location to be determined and against an opponent which has yet to be decided.
Amy Festa is a fifth-year student majoring in English with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at AF649219@wcupa.edu.