KUTZTOWN, Pa. (Oct. 19) – Despite battling back from a two-set deficit, the Vulcans fell by a 3-2 margin (25-22, 28-26, 18-25, 14-25, 15-9) at Kutztown in a five-set thriller on Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play.
With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team drops to 9-8 this season behind a 4-5 mark in league action. The Vulcans also hold a 3-2 record in five-set matches this year. Meanwhile, Kutztown improves to 8-12 overall with a 2-8 record in conference play.
The freshmen duo of
Kaylin Burkey (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) and
Chelsea Howard (Atlanta, Ga./North Atlanta) combined for 31 kills in the contest. Burkey paced the team with 16 kills and added seven digs, while Howard posted a season-high 15 kills on a .321 hitting percentage. Sophomore
Sarah Moehring (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) recorded 10 kills and 13 digs against the Golden Bears, while junior
Madeleine McKenna (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) also tallied nine kills. Sophomore
Sarah Benson (Canton, Ohio/Jackson) directed the offense with 44 assists and totaled a career-high 20 digs for her 11th assist/dig double-double this season.
The Vulcans featured four players with double-digit digs on Saturday, led by junior libero
Jensen Silbaugh (Warren, Ohio/Lakeview) with 26 digs. Freshman
Kelly Lynch (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Holy Name) also notched 12 digs on Saturday. Cal U tallied 12 service aces in the match with sophomore
Shelby Alloway (Dunkirk, Ohio/Hardin Northern) collecting a team-leading five aces and Moehring adding four aces. The Vulcans totaled seven blocks with Howard controlling the net with a season-high four blocks, while McKenna and junior
Madison Kline (Hastings, Pa./Cambria Heights) each totaled three blocks.
In the first set, Kutztown started the match with a 1-0 lead after the set featured 13 ties and three lead changes. The teams traded points in the opening set before the Golden Bears grabbed an 8-5 advantage, but Cal U responded by scoring six of the next nine points to tie the contest at 11-11. After exchanging the next three points, the Vulcans registered three-straight points to take a 15-13 lead before Kutztown once again tied the match at 15-15. The first set would feature six more ties before the Golden Bears scored four of the final five points to secure the set by a 25-22 margin.
Kutztown took a 2-0 match lead after edging out the second set by a 28-26 margin. Cal U raced out to a 7-2 lead after a pair of kills from Howard before the Golden Bears countered with three-straight points. After trading four points, the Vulcans scored five of the next six points to take a 14-8 advantage. Kutztown would mount an 8-2 rally to tie the match at 16-16 and forced Cal U to use a timeout. The Vulcans went on a 5-1 lead to reclaim the lead before the Golden Bears answered again with five-straight points to take a 22-21 advantage. Cal U would fight off set point twice and take a 25-24 lead before Kutztown recorded four of five points to finish the set, 28-26.
The Vulcans cut the match deficit to 2-1 after notching 13 kills to win the third set, 25-18. Cal U built an early 10-6 lead before the Golden Bears closed the gap with three-straight points. The Vulcans countered with a 5-1 run to extend the advantage to 15-10, but Kutztown scored four of seven points to trim the deficit to 18-14. Cal U stretched the lead with four-consecutive points, including two kills from Burkey, before the Golden Bears answered with a 3-0 run. The Vulcans would take the third set by a 25-18 margin after scoring three of the final four points.
Cal U tied the contest at 2-2 after claiming the fourth set by a 25-14 margin behind 11 kills on a .259 hitting percentage. The Vulcans established an 8-3 lead before Kutztown used a 5-2 run to close the gap to 10-8. Cal U then countered with seven of the next eight points to stretch the advantage to 17-9 before the Golden Bears tallied back-to-back points. The Vulcans used an 8-3 run to take the fourth set by a 25-14 margin.
The Golden Bears claimed the match victory by a 3-2 count after securing the fifth set, 15-9. The match was tied at 5-5 before Kutztown mounted a 5-1 run to build a 10-6 advantage. Cal U scored three of the next four points to cut the deficit to 11-9. The Golden Bears then scored four-straight points to seal the victory, 15-9.
The Vulcans are idle for nearly a week before returning to action on Friday, Oct. 25, when they travel to face Pitt-Johnstown in PSAC Southwest Division play, starting at 7 p.m.
