After finishing the non-league portion of their schedule at 9-5, the women’s volleyball team entered this weekend looking to continue that success into the PSAC schedule. With each of their nine wins coming in authoritative fashion, either 3-0 or 3-1, there was no doubt that this squad has the fire power to stand up to any team in the league. Senior captain Lexi Kegerise continues to be productive on offense, leading the group with 134 kills so far this season. Setters Mary Faust and Mandy Flynn have posted similar numbers with 254 and 220 assists, respectively. Flynn, a freshman, certainly plays with the confidence of a much more experienced player, with head coach Kassie Bellaver commenting that she has adjusted quickly to the speed of the college game. On the other side of the ball, junior libero Dana Markol has been solid defensively, racking up 112 digs in 15 games.
The 2012-2013 PSACseason was officially underway Friday afternoon as the Rams clashed with a red-hot Slippery Rock team. “The Rock” came into Friday’s contest riding a four-game win streak, and had no intention of stopping there. They disposed of the Rams in just three sets (25-21, 25-18, 25-17), handing West Chester a loss in their first league game of the season. Both teams had over 90 total attempts in the match-total attempts equal the sum of kills, errors and “0” attacks-but West Chester’s conversion rate was significantly lower at a mere .088% in the contest.
As if facing a tough team in Slippery Rock wasn’t enough, the Rams second outing on Friday would come against a Clarion squad that has only lost three games so far this season. The Golden Eagles soared to their 10th victory of the year in only three sets (25-14, 25-19, 25-20), leaving Coach Bellaver and the team with some adjustments to be made moving into Saturday’s action. Clarion setter Laura Subject had a remarkable game on offense, leading both teams with 32 assists.
Unfortunately, Saturday would prove to be equally unsuccessful, as the Rams would again have trouble converting their opportunities into points. The first match of the day came against a familiar foe in the California (Pa.) Vulcans. The same team that knocked West Chester out in the second round of the playoffs last year would continue their dominance, outplaying the Rams to a victory in three sets (25-20, 25-18, 25-12). The Vulcans held West Chester to their lowest scoring set (12) all season, and improved their record to 13-2 on the year.
In the afternoon affair, the Rams managed to win their only set in four matches opposite the Indiana (Pa.) Crimson Hawks. The Hawks, led by offensive leader Morgan Cerveny (122 kills), took the first two sets (25-18, 25-17) before the Rams, after losing 11 straight sets, finally stole one (25-21). The match concluded with a fourth-set victory (25-21), with IUP earning the win.
With the first PSAC weekend in the books, it is now time for the players to figure out what went wrong. Obviously, an 0-4 start is not what they were looking for to begin the season, but Rams captain Kelly Martin is positive looking forward.
“It is still early in the season and we have been playing well, however, we can and need to play better, ” noted the senior middle hitter. “I feel very confident in our team this year as we have had spurts of amazing game play; we just need to be consistent. We’re coming out of an 0-4 weekend so we just need to keep our heads up and focus on our upcoming games.”
Martin is no stranger to adversity and has been in situations similar to this one over the course of her career at West Chester. She knows what happened is in the past, and the best remedy for a bad weekend is to come out strong in the next match.
The Rams will have an opportunity to do just that next weekend, as they continue their seven-game home stand against East Stroudsburg on Sept. 28, followed by Lock Haven on Sept. 29.
Joshua Shapiro is a second-year student majoring in English and education. He can be reached at JS762110@wcupa.edu