CLARION, Pa. (Nov. 11) – Facing the winningest team in the league this season, the Vulcans earned a 3-0 win (25-19, 25-15, 27-25) at Clarion in the quarterfinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament on Tuesday night.
With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team improves to 26-8 overall. The Vulcans, who are the fourth seed in the tournament from the PSAC West, advance to face West Chester in the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 15, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Clarion, who is the top seed from the PSAC West, falls to 29-4 this season with two of its losses coming at home against Cal U.
Senior
Laurel Miller (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) registered a match-high 14 kills while posting a .333 hitting percentage. Freshman
Ashley Leto (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) tallied nine kills, while juniors
Miranda Fouzie (Kingston, Ontario/Sydenham) and
Mary Lavery (La Plata, Md./La Plata) both added seven kills. Sophomores
Megan Litoborski (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) and
Kristen Scurpa (Sharpsville, Pa./Sharpsville) guided the offense with 19 and 17 assists, respectively, in the victory.
Senior
Samantha Rudy (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) collected a team-high 16 digs and Leto finished with 12 digs on Tuesday. Miller totaled her 17th kill/dig double-double of the season after posting 10 digs against Clarion. Fouzie controlled the net with seven blocks in the win.
In the first set, the Golden Eagles opened play on an 8-4 run before the Vulcans won eight of the next 10 points to take a 12-10 lead on a solo block by Fouzie. Clarion claimed three of four points before Cal U won three-straight points to take a 16-13 lead on a service by Scurpa. After a timeout by the Golden Eagles, the teams traded the next three points before the Vulcans earned five-straight points to take a 23-16 lead on a kill by Miller. Clarion then claimed three-straight points before Cal U countered with back-to-back kills by Fouzie and Lavery to earn a 25-19 victory.
The teams traded points in the opening portion of the second set before Cal U won five-straight points to take a 12-7 lead on a kill by Miller. Following a point by the Golden Eagles, the Vulcans claimed seven of the next nine points to take a 19-10 lead on an attacking error. Clarion answered with a 7-2 run of its own to trim the deficit to 21-15 before Cal U closed the set with four-straight points, posting a 25-15 win on a kill by Hayes.
The third set featured a combined eight lead changes and 14 ties, which were more than the opening two sets combined. The teams traded points in the early portion of the set before the Vulcans took a 7-5 after collecting back-to-back points. Clarion countered with four-consecutive points before Cal U won six of seven points to take a 13-10 lead on a bad set. The Golden Eagles posted four-straight points to take a 14-13 lead before the Vulcans called a timeout. Clarion later won five of seven points before Cal U answered with a 5-2 run to take a 22-21 lead on a kill by Miller. The Golden Eagles then forced set point at 24-22 before the Vulcans won three-straight points to force match point at 25-24 on a kill by Miller. Clarion staved off match point on an attacking error before Cal U earned back-to-back points, posting a 27-25 victory on a kill by Lavery.
Cal U will face West Chester, who is the second seed from the PSAC East, on Saturday in the semifinals of the PSAC Tournament at 4 p.m. The Golden Rams earned a 3-1 victory over defending-league champion Pitt-Johnstown in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
