The West Chester University volleyball squad defeated both University of the Sciences and PSAC East division rival Millersville, but fell in five games to the Shippensburg Raiders. After losing two straight against Indiana (Pa.) and Clarion, Kassie Bellaver’s squad rebounded with a win over University of the Sciences last Tuesday night. The Golden Rams easily discarded USP by a score of 3-0 in a non league volleyball match at Bobby Morgan Arena.
WCU won by scores of 25-14, 25-19, and 25-13. Sophomore Lexi Kegerise registered 12 kills to help lead the Rams past USP. Senior Michelle Powers contributed offensively with a kill percentage of .450 and 10 kills of her own. Helen Fitzpatrick had 26 assists and Dana Markol led the Golden Rams with eight digs. Libero Lisa Campbell posted seven digs of her own.
USP’s volleyball squad now falls to an overall record of 5-9 on the 2010 season. Christine Puschak led USP with eight kills, while Cady Rich added seven. Stacey Wooden had an impressive defensive performance for USP, recording 15 digs against WCU.
The Golden Rams had a come-from-behind victory over Millersville in a PSAC East women’s volleyball showdown at Pucillo Gym Friday night. WCU fell behind early and dropped the opening set, but fought through adversity to capture the next three in succession to pick up the win. WCU won by scores of 23-25, 25-18, 25-22, and 25-20.
Four Lady Rams ended up with double figures in kills in the win over Millersville.
Kegerise yet again had a team-high 15 kills while teammates Julie Boblits, Powers and Kelly Martin each posted 10 kills. Martin added a team-best seven blocks and Powers was right behind her with six blocks of her own. Overall WCU managed 15 blocks against Millersville.
Fitzpatrick registered 38 assists and five blocks to go along with seven digs.
With WCU down a set and tied at 14-all, the Lady Rams went on an 11-4 run following a well timed timeout to close out the second set with a win that tied the match at one apiece. Bellaver was at it again with another well-placed timeout in the third set that led to another come-from-behind win. The Golden Rams trailed by three when Bellaver halted the Marauders’ momentum with the TO.
“We try to call the timeouts in order to stop any momentum that the opposition has gained. We just try to get back on track offensively and talk about what set we are going to run,” Bellaver said.
Saturday, Oct. 16, WCU hit the road again to visit PSAC East rival Shippensburg.
The Lady Rams fell behind early with a close game one loss, 22-25. Behind one game to none, WCU lost game two, 16-25 and found themselves exactly where they did not want to be.
As the Golden Rams have done all year long, they battled back to win game three and four to force a fifth game by scores of 25-17 and 25-21. In an air-tight back and fourth game, Shippensburg was able to come away with a 17-15 game five win to take the PSAC East match against West Chester.
“The match with Ship was tough, but we had our opportunities and could not execute in the end,” Bellaver said.
After dropping a disappointing match to Shippensburg, the Golden Rams took out their frustration on Glenville State. The thrashing of Glenville State took place at Shippensburg. WCU disposed of GSU in just three games, winning the match 3-0.
Bellaver’s squad now has an overall record of 17-8 and is 5-8 in the PSAC Conference.
West Chester will host Kutztown University inside Hollinger Field House on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m., a match that will have playoff implications. The Lady Rams will travel to Cheyney University on Saturday, Oct. 22; the game starts at 7 p.m. Saturday Oct. 23, WCU will take on Lincoln University in Philadelphia at 11 a.m.
Steven Fisher is a fourth-year student majoring in communications with a minor in journalism. He can be reached at SF674180@wcupa.edu.