After their first two losses of the season, the West Chester women’s volleyball team bounced back in a huge way, winning three matches this past week by a combined 9-0. Led by sophomore Michelle Powers and seniors Lisa Yeasted and Megan Musselman, the Lady Rams have jumped to a blazing 9-2 overall start.
The first matchup of the week was against Bloomfield, a team that forced West Chester to travel out of state to New Jersey to compete against. Despite winning three matches, the team was very tightly contested in the first, winning 25-21. The next two sets were won a bit more comfortably, with finals of 25-17 and 25-19.
For the game, Yeasted had 28 assists, adding to her already whopping total of what now stands at 378 for the season. No one else on the team has more than seven, making Yeasted’s accomplishments in the setting game all the more impressive. Powers, the team’s main offensive threat contributed with 11 kills and Lacie Becher led the team in blocks with five more in the match.
The second and third matchups of the week took place on the same day, as the Lady Rams hosted Ram Fest in West Chester University’s Hollinger Field House.
Despite two teams dropping out of the tournament at the last minute, West Chester still had a perfect day, as they won both their matches three sets to none. In the first match against UDC, Powers recorded nine kills and seven blocks. Mussleman added eight kills to team with Powers to continue to wreak havoc on opposing defenses. West Chester recorded only five hitting errors, one major reason they played such a strong match.
The second match of the day also belonged to West Chester, again in a three sets to none dominating fashion over Holy Family. Powers added 12 more kills to her totals, giving her 21 for the day between the two matches. Helping Powers against Holy Family was Lisa Yeasted who had 29 assists and seven digs.
Sitting at 9-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference, the Lady Rams are tied for first in the PSAC east division with Shippensburg.
This coming week the team travels to Kutztown to face off against the Golden Bears in the third PSAC east tilt of the season for the ladies. That match is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Then on Thursday they travel to Goldey Beacom before closing out the week at Holy Family on Saturday. West Chester does not return home until September 23, when they play host to Lock Haven.
Player of the Week – Michelle Powers flat out dominated opponents this week. In three matches she totaled 30 kills. Some of her impressive season totals include totals of 127 kills, five service aces, 30 digs, and 25 blocks. Powers is only a sophomore and will continue to improve on her already incredible numbers as she gains more experience.
Mike Heiman is a fourth-year student majoring in elementary education with a minor in literacy. He can be reached at MH606613@wcupa.edu.