YORK, PA-The York College volleyball squad fell
just short of defending their Spartan Best Western Westgate
Invitational title as the undefeated Eastern University Eagles
edged the Spartans 3-2 in the tournament championship game on
Saturday in York. The Eagles won the championship 25-18, 25-23,
18-25, 20-25, and 19-17. Earlier in the day, the Spartans tore
through Albright 25-14, 25-21, and 25-13. The Spartans are now 9-8
for the campaign while Eastern stands at 12-0.
The championship game provided a
championship atmosphere as the Eagles came into the match having
lost just one set in their previous 11 matches. It looked like not
much was going to change as they took the first set by seven. The
second set saw the Spartans have an opportunity to tie the match at
one but the Eagles dug deep and put the green and white in a 2-0
hole.
York, much to their credit, did not roll over for the Eagles as
they battled back to capture the third and fourth sets in exciting
fashion, setting the stage for a thrilling fifth set.
In the final set, the Spartans
jumped out to an early 4-1 lead. They would maintain the lead,
growing it to as large as five at 9-4 before the Eagles started to
work their way back. Late in the set, the Spartans held a 14-11
lead but three consecutive Eastern points tied the decisive set at
14. York went up 15-14 only to have the Eagles take a 16-15 lead.
The teams exchanged the next three points, tying the set at 17.
Eastern captured the next two points to remain unbeaten on the
season.
Sophomore Alishia Waltermyer
(Brogue, Pa./Red Lion) capped an outstanding weekend as
she had 14 kills, a solo block and four block assists for a
team-high 17 points. Waltermyer hit .464 for the match as she had
only one error in 28 attempts. Junior Casi Brough (Hanover,
Pa./Spring Grove) was the other Spartan in double figures
with 12 kills while she also had seven digs. Junior Amanda
Clemens (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) continued her strong
play with 34 digs while she also had a pair of service aces.
Freshman Heather Bucher (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle)
recorded yet another double-double with 24 assists and 11 digs.
Bucher also had eight kills, two service aces and two block
assists. Freshman Alysse Beshore (York,
Pa./Northeastern) chipped in with seven kills and three
block assists for the match. Freshman Cortni Rentzel (Mt.
Wolf, Pa./Northeastern) handed out 23 assists and had
seven digs while sophomore Jana Arentz (Hanover,
Pa./Hanover) had ten digs and a team-high four service
aces.
In the win over Albright in the
final round robin game Saturday morning, the Spartans steamrolled
the Lions with a total team effort. Brough hit .500 for the match
as she had eight kills in 16 attempts. Freshman Julie
Coombs (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown) also hit .500 for
the match as she had seven kills in 14 attempts. Beshore and
Waltermyer were also very efficient offensively as Beshore had six
kills in eight attempts for a .750 attack percentage while
Waltermyer had five kills in eight attempts for a .625 mark. Bucher
had 13 assists, four kills, four digs, two service aces, and five
block assists for YCP. Rentzel notched nine assists and four digs
while sophomore Sarah Jackson (Reading, Pa./Holy
Name) had a team-high 19 digs.
The Spartans return to action on
Tuesday night as they host Stevenson University in a Capital
Athletic Conference match at Charles Wolf Gymnasium. The match is
slated to begin at 7:00 pm.
ALBRIGHT
BOX
EASTERN
BOX
Heather Bucher photo courtesy of Steve Doemland
