The West Chester women’s volleyball team got back on track, sweeping two tough teams in back to back matches this past week.
The Rams settled in at home for a battle against Holy Family. The Tigers fought every match to the bitter end, but the Rams did not give up on any set. The first set was back and forth resulting in a 25-22 win for the Rams. The second set had a very similar result. WCU showed they are the dominant team in the third set. They posted a .478 hitting percentage in the third set while committing only one error. Leaving it all on the court, the ladies of West Chester forced Holy Family into the negatives for hitting percentage. Lyndsey Iacobelli contributed a team-best 21 digs in the win. Along with Iacoelli’s strong performance, senior Julia O’Brien registered a team high 11 kills in the victory. O’Brien has been a force at the net all season for the Golden Rams, showing what being a true captain is all about. Her play has not faulted and her leadership has been key in West Chester’s so far success.
West Chester carried the flow over to their match against East Stroudsburg on Thursday night. The first set carried over past the 25 points, but the other two sets came easier to the West Chester ladies, each set more promising than the previous. The final scores were 28-26, 25-19, and 25-17. O’Brien and junior Marina Sharkey led the team in kills with 13 and nine respectively. Along with O’Brien, Sharkey has brought an element to the Golden Rams that has changed the team. Her consistency has been a strong point in the Rams’ season and something for the team to fall back on.
On homecoming day, the women’s volleyball set out to Kutztown and picked up a very hard fought 3-2 victory. The Rams took the first set 25-20. Then they dropped the next two sets 27-25 and 25-17. Fighting to win the fourth set 25-23, and carrying that force into the match deciding set to win 15-10. Annalee Halbert notched 43 assists and 12 digs. Callie Krajcir, who made her first appearance since Sept. 27 against Shippensburg, posted 12 assists. Sharkey played a big game at the net, complimenting her 17 kills with seven blocks. The Golden Rams as a whole played the match tough. Kutztown battled but in the end, West Chester proved to be more than the Golden Bears could handle.
West Chester heads to Georgian Court on Tuesday in preparation for two essential PSAC tilts with Shippensburg and Millersville.
Georgian Court has had an up and down season so far, a lot like West Chester. They currently possess a 13-11 record. West Chester dropped a match to Millersville earlier this season, but will look to rebound from the tough loss and get a win.
Bryce Livers is a second-year student majoring in communications. He can be reached at BL810873@wcupa.edu