ATHENS, W.Va. (Sept. 3) – The California (PA) volleyball team closed play at the Concord Classic with a split of matches on Saturday afternoon, claiming a 3-0 win against Bluefield State before dropping a 3-2 match against the host Mountain Lions.
With the split, the Vulcans move to 4-3 overall after splitting their four matches this weekend. Cal played a pair of independent programs at Concord in addition to an opponent from the Mountain East Conference (MEC) and Gulf South Conference (GSC).
Against Bluefield State (1-4), Cal tallied 34 kills while earning a 3-0 victory (25-22, 25-20, 25-17) to open play on Saturday. Senior
Kaylin Burkey (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) led the team with 10 kills on a .318 hitting percentage and junior
Alayja Floyd (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central) finished with seven kills while hitting at a .364 clip. Freshman
Adrianna Favata (Peoria, Ariz./Liberty) and sophomore
Rachel Simon (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park) guided the offense with 14 and 12 assists, respectively.
Junior
Emily Buwawa (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) posted a team-leading nine digs in the win. Senior
Chelsea Howard (Atlanta, Ga./North Atlanta) helped control the net with three blocks, while Floyd and junior
Alexa Malloy (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) each tallied a pair of blocks.
Against host Concord (3-6), the Vulcans suffered a dramatic 3-2 loss (25-19, 25-19, 20-25, 16-25, 15-12) in the final match of the event. Burkey set a season high with 19 kills on 42 attempts for a .357 hitting percentage, plus added four service aces and three blocks. Freshman
Oliwia Suboczewska (Wroclaw, Poland/SMW Wroclaw) finished with 12 kills and Malloy added eight kills in the loss. Freshman
Ashley Barnes (Crofton, Md./Arundel) established a season high with 32 assists and Simon collected 11 assists in the match.
Buwawa registered a career-high 20 digs and tallied three service aces. Suboczewska posted 15 digs to record her third kill/dig double-double of the season and Barnes finished with nine digs. Floyd anchored the defensive effort at the net with six blocks in the match.
The Vulcans return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 7, when they travel to face Shepherd in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, for a non-conference match at 7 p.m.
