CALIFORNIA, Pa. (Sept. 14) – The Vulcans opened Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover action on Friday night with a 3-0 sweep (27-25, 25-23, 25-22) against Lock Haven at the Convocation Center.
With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team improves to 8-5 overall with a 1-0-mark in league play. Meanwhile, the Bald Eagles drop to 5-5 this season behind an 0-1 record in conference action after ranking fourth nationally in digs per set heading into the match.
Senior
Lois van Schaik (Naarden, Netherlands/St. Vituscollege) paced the team with 11 kills on a .242 hitting percentage and junior
Rachel Priore (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) tallied nine kills versus Lock Haven. Freshman
Sarah Benson (Canton, Ohio/Jackson) directed the offense and registered an assist/dig double-double with 35 assists and 14 digs in the victory.
Sophomore
Jensen Silbaugh (Warren, Ohio/Lakeview) led the team with 19 digs, while Priore recorded 16 digs in the contest. Benson also tallied double-digit digs and freshman
Sarah Moehring (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) posted 10 digs. van Schaik and senior
Emily Bucklin (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) both controlled the net with three blocks.
In the first set, both teams traded points early in the match before the Bald Eagles opened a 12-9 lead on back-to-back kills. The Vulcans responded with four-unanswered points with a pair of kills from senior
Tina Bellhy (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) to regain the lead at 13-12. Lock Haven managed to the tie the contest at 16-16 before Cal U scored four-straight points to take a 20-16 advantage. The Bald Eagles countered to tie the match once again after notching eight of the next 12 points, 24-24. The Vulcans claimed the set on a 3-1 run with van Schaik recording the final point, 27-25.
Cal U recorded 16 kills on a .220 clip in the second set to produce a 25-23 win. The Vulcans opened up an early 6-2 lead with three kills coming from van Schaik. Lock Haven closed the gap with a 7-2 run to take the lead at 9-8. The contest remained tied after teams exchanged the next seven points before back-to-back points by the Bald Eagles forced a Vulcan timeout. Cal U responded with a pair of points to tie the match and scored five of the next seven points to take a 19-16 advantage. Lock Haven trimmed the lead to 21-20 before a back-to-back attack errors put the Vulcans up 24-20. The Bald Eagles rallied with three-unanswered points before van Schaik posted a kill to take the second set, 25-23.
In the third set, the Vulcans completed the match victory with a 25-22 victory. Cal U took an early 6-4 lead before Lock Haven scored three-straight points to take a 7-6 lead. The Vulcans tied the match at 13-13 and the Bald Eagles countered with a 5-1 run to force a timeout. Cal U tallied three-unanswered points to cut the deficit before both teams traded points to tie the contest, 21-21. Lock Haven took the lead on a kill before the Vulcans registered four-straight points to seal the match victory, 25-22.
The Vulcans return to action tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 15, when they host Bloomsburg in PSAC Crossover action at 1 p.m.
