CALIFORNIA (Nov. 15) – In a highly-competitive match that featured 16 lead changes and 35 ties, the fourth-seeded Vulcans advanced in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament with a 3-1 victory in the quarterfinals against fifth-seeded Shippensburg on Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.
With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team improves to 22-8 overall and advances to face top-seeded and host Gannon in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 18, at 7:30 p.m. Meanwhile, Shippensburg falls to 26-7 this season and must now wait to see if it receives an at-large berth to the NCAA Playoffs.
Senior
Danielle Hayes (Erie, Pa./McDowell) led all players with 15 kills while hitting at a .217 clip and also recorded 20 digs for her 15th kill/dig double-double. Sophomore
Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) and junior
Ashley Leto (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) collected 12 and 11 kills, respectively, in the victory. Senior
Megan Litoborski (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) guided the offense with 42 assists and also posted 15 digs against the Raiders.
Leto paced the team with 25 digs, as she has registered at least 25 digs in two of the last three matches. Junior
Taylor Solo (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) and sophomore
Bayleana Sowers (Mt. Wolf, Pa./Northeastern) added 18 and 16 digs, respectively, on Tuesday night. Hayes and sophomore
Tina Bellhy (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) each led the team with five blocks, while sophomore
Lois van Schaik (Naarden, Netherlands/St. Vituscollege) collected four blocks.
The teams traded points early in the first set before the Raiders won three-straight points to take an 8-5 lead. Cal U cut the deficit to 11-10 before Shippensburg won three of four points take a 14-11 lead. The Vulcans countered with four-unanswered points to take a 15-14 lead on a kill by Hayes. The teams traded points before Cal U rallied off three-straight points to take a 21-19 lead on a kill by Litoborski. The Raiders won two of the next three points before the Vulcans closed the set by winning three-unanswered points to earn a 25-21 win on a kill by Leto.
In the second set, Cal U posted a .250 hitting percentage and committed only four attacking errors on 40 attempts. The Raiders earned five-straight points early in the set to take a 9-6 lead before the Vulcans claimed five of seven points to tie the score at 12-12 on a solo block by Leto. Following a service error, Cal U won three-unanswered points to take a 15-13 lead on a kill by Hayes. Shippensburg won three of the next four points to tie the score at 16-16 before Cal U earned three of four points to take a 19-17 lead on an attacking error. The teams traded runs of back-to-back points before the Vulcans rallied off four of five points earn a 25-21 victory after consecutive kills from Barrett and Hayes.
The Vulcans committed eight attacking errors and the Raiders tallied five blocks in the third set. Shippensburg seized control early with an 11-3 run to build an 11-5 before Cal U won back-to-back points. The Raiders countered by winning five of six points to stretch the lead to 16-8. Shippensburg later mounted a 5-2 run to take a commanding 23-12 lead before finishing the set with a 25-15 win.
In the fourth set, Shippensburg finished with 10 attacking errors while Cal U posted a .196 hitting percentage. The Vulcans posted a pair of 3-0 runs early in the set to take a 10-8 lead on a kill by Leto before the Raiders tied the score at 12-12. Cal U later won three of four points to take a 15-13 lead on a service ace by Sowers before Shippensburg countered with three-straight points to reclaim the lead at 16-15. The Vulcans then earned three of the next four points to take an 18-17 lead on a kill by Leto. Shippensburg later led 20-19 before three-straight points by Cal U forced the Raiders to call a timeout. After an attacking error, the Vulcans rallied off three-consecutive points to take a 25-21 victory on a service ace by Leto.
Cal U will face Gannon in the semifinals of the PSAC Tournament on Friday at the Hammermill Center in Erie, Pennsylvania, with the match starting at 7:30 p.m. The Lady Knights will host both the semifinals and championship of the league tournament after posting a 3-0 victory over eighth-seeded West Chester on Friday.
