The West Chester University women’s volleyball team continue their undefeated run and advance to 8-0 on the season with a road victory over Philadelphia University.
The Lady Rams defeated Philadelphia University three sets to one (27-25, 19-25, 25-17, 25-23) on Saturday afternoon to open the season on an eight match win streak. The match at Philadelphia University was West Chester’s first official road match of the season after going 3-0 on neutral courts and 4-0 at home. Saturday was only the third match of the season that WCU failed to sweep their opponent. The only other two sets that the Golden Rams had dropped on the season were at the Kutztown Classic, one to Davis and Elkins College and the other to Southern New Hampshire University.
The match also saw WCU’s impressive rookie freshmen continue their hot start to the season. Paige Thommas posted a career high in kills for a match with 17 and Annalee Halbert tied her career high in assists with 42. Callie Krajcir needed one more defensive dig to tie her career high while she posted 22 for the match. Sophomore, Marina Sharkey, continued her consistent play posting 11 kills with senior Allision Grammer, adding nine more to the team total. Halbert and Sharkey also were tied for the team lead in blocks with four a piece. The team finished with 51 kills, 12 blocks, 7 service aces, and 77 defensive digs.
The match against Philadelphia University was the closest match that the Golden Rams have faced in their young season. The match saw 30 tied scores and 15 different lead changes including the first and fourth set going down to the win by two margin. In the end, the Lady Rams were able to close out the match with a kill by Sharkey, assisted by Halbert.
So far in the season, this Rams squad has looked phenomenal against their opponents. With eight wins to kick off the season, this team is looking to continue their perfect season by crushing their competition. One interesting note: so far in the season, the team has only dropped three sets in eight matches! That unbelievable statistic speaks volumes about just how dominant the Lady Rams have been to open up their campaign.
WCU have yet to open up their Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) schedule but they are one of the two remaining undefeated teams left in the conference along with Clarion University, who are 10-0. The Lady Rams will start their PSAC schedule this coming weekend with two double headers in Erie, Pennsylvania against four PSAC West Division teams. Friday’s double-header features matches against Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (7-4) and Gannon University (4-4), while Saturday will see WCU face off against Slippery Rock University (5-6) and Mercyhurst University (5-4). While Gannon and Mercyhurst are riding two game winning streaks, the Lady Rams’ toughest competition of the season thus far will come against Edinboro who is coming off a loss to Fairmont State University. The Rams do not face off against any opponent in their own East Division until the beginning of October when they face Shippensburg University.
If you want to see a dominant display of pure athleticism and teamwork, come check out your Lady Ram’s volleyball team and support the purple and gold!
Stephen Gallo is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies. He can be reached at SG 749536@wcupa.edu