There was no doubt that the women’s volleyball team was focused on the task at hand last Tuesday during their only non-league match of the regular season against Georgian Court. The two teams appeared to be fairly even on paper, with GCU at 10-12 on the season and West Chester only a game under .500 (12-13). The contest was an excellent opportunity for both squads to hone their skills against another talented side, without the pressure of any conference implications.
The Lions, coached by Daniel Sempkowski in his first year with the team, have performed well when it mattered all season (9-5 vs. conference opponents). They are currently occupying the third position in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, trailing only Wilmington and Philadelphia University. Fortunately, their bout with West Chester would have no effect on either team’s standing, although the Rams were probably wishing it did after the match ended in a sound victory for the home side. Coach Bellaver’s group certainly showed up in a big way in front of the fans inside Hollinger Field House.
The first two sets ended decisively in favor of West Chester (25-15, 25-18) after the offense got on a roll, converting 27 out 54 attempts and only six errors for a .387 attacking percentage. With their backs against the wall, the Lions managed to squeak out a win in the third set (26-24), only to have the match slip away in the fourth (25-18).
Julia O’Brien had an excellent game, tallying nine kills, four service aces and five block assists. Marina Sharkey and Kelly Martin also contributed on offense with a total of 14 kills and four block assists between them. The set ups came from Mary Faust (20) and Tori Hutchinson (16) and Dana Markol posted 24 digs in the match to increase her total to 238 on the year.
Tuesday’s win was soon forgotten however, as the Rams were swept in three sets by the Raiders on Saturday in Shippensburg. The girls were unable to replicate the offense displayed earlier in the week, resulting in a tough loss for the team to swallow. Luckily, there wasn’t any time to dwell on their misfortune as they were back in action on Sunday vs. Millersville.
After losing the first two sets (25-27, 19-25), the Rams dug deep and were able to come all the way back to win three straight sets for the “W.”
“We had a huge win at Millersville today. The team showed a lot of heart and character to come back from down two sets to win 3-2. Lexi and Allison were huge offensively, and Mary did a great job passing,” said Bellaver.
Lexi Kegerise had 22 kills in the spectacular come from behind victory and Allison Grammer registered 17 in her best performance of the season. Faust had a total of 12 assists and 13 digs in the match along with Hutchinson’s team-leading 21 helpers.
“A big win helps us greatly. Especially getting into playoff time now, every game is crucial to our playoff seeding. We all feed off of each other’s energy after a great win and try our best to carry the same emotion and execution into the next match,” said Grammer.
The Millersville result will certainly help to boost the team’s confidence as they prepare for their second and final meeting of the season with East Stroudsburg on Thursday. The Rams will look to hold onto their fourth position in the PSAC East, and a win over ESU is required to do so. They will then travel east for what is sure to be a tough showdown on Friday with Lock Haven to whom they lost 0-3 earlier in the season. The overall atmosphere in the locker is a positive one and the girls know that confidence plays a large role in how they perform on the court.
“Our confidence level is high going into games. We have a great group of girls with a ton of talent, we just reassure ourselves if we play our game and not play down to another team’s level that we will be successful,” said Grammer, who is well aware of the importance of a positive outlook, especially in the waning weeks of the season.
Joshua Shapiro is a second-year student majoring in English and education. He can be reached at JS762110@wcupa.edu.