Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Kutztown University women's volleyball team suffered its first two defeats of the 2018 season on Friday, falling to host-University of Charleston and Urbana University on the first day of the PSAC-MEC Crossover Challenge.
Holly Owen (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) led the offensive effort against Charleston, posting nine kills, her fourth straight match recording a team-high. Freshman
Erin Patterson (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) finished with eight kills right behind Owen and
Jessica Howe (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg Area) led the Golden Bear hitters with a .263 attack percentage, notching seven kills.
Abbey James (York, Pa./West York Area) and
Amanda Meck (Fleetwood, Pa./Fleetwood Area) combined for 25 assists with
Sydney Wilson (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) pacing the defensive effort by collecting 15 digs.
Charleston (WV)
Despite being swept in straight sets by the Golden Eagles of Charleston, KU held late leads in each of the three frames, battling hard against a tough UC squad.
Trailing 9-4 in the opening set, Kutztown rolled off seven straight tallies with Meck at the service line to pull in front by three, a run which included five kills from Patterson.
The Golden Bears relinquished this margin as the frame progressed, trailing by two, until back-to-back points capped by a Owen kill brought them level with UC at 21-all.
Charleston then delivered the critical blow to secure the opening set victory, scoring four of the final five points to take set one, 25-22.
Consecutive kills from
Brittney Moyer (Orwigsburg, Pa./Blue Mountain (Lock Haven)) put the Maroon and Gold ahead 10-7 in the middle part of the second set. KU then held a four-point advantage a short time later, using three straight tallies to take a 17-13 lead.
The Golden Eagles then found their form at this critical juncture in the match, however, scoring six unanswered to go in front 19-17. Kutztown fought hard to the finish line, but couldn't overcome this late deficit as CU finished off set two with a kill, taking the frame 25-22.
With the momentum firmly in its favor, Charleston looked to be well on its way to cruising to a third set and match victory, leading 17-11.
A resilient Golden Bear squad had other ideas, however, as Meck went on another serving run, posting two aces herself in the midst of six straight KU points to tie the set at 17-17.
The back-and-forth nature of this frame continued to its completion as a solo block from Howe evened the score at 24-all. UC showed its propensity for timely scoring once again, tallying the final two points to take the set, 26-24, and complete a hard-fought 3-0 victory.
Urbana
As of 9:30 p.m. ET, scores and stats are not available from the Urbana match. This will be updated at a later time when those are released.
KU gets back to the court tomorrow, heading 9.4 miles northwest on I-64 to Institute, W. Va. for the second day of the PSAC-MEC Crossover. Kutztown will take on Shepherd University at 10 a.m. before playing host-West Virginia State University in the nightcap at 7 p.m.
