YORK, PA – The York College volleyball team extended their school-record win streak to 16 matches with Saturday's 3-1 victory over Capital Athletic Conference foe Mary Washington. The Spartans fell in game one 25-17 but rebounded to capture the last three sets, 25-11, 25-17, and 25-22.

York is now 17-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference while the Eagles fall to 13-6 overall and 3-1 in the CAC.

In the opening set, the Spartans found themselves down early before crawling back into the match and taking a 6-5 lead. The Eagles then fashioned a 7-0 spurt to take a 12-6 advantage. The Green and White trimmed the Eagle lead to one twice but Mary Washington eventually pulled away with a 9-3 run to close out the first set and take the early advantage.

The second set saw the Green and White turn it around with dominating play. York trailed very early in the set but blitzed the Eagles with a 9-2 run that gave them a 12-5 lead. That lead extended to double digits at 17-7 and remained a double-digit bulge the rest of the set.

The early portion of the third set was back and forth as both team struggled to assert themselves in the crucial stanza. York started to pull away at 14-8 but the Eagles trimmed the lead back to three points twice, the second time coming at 19-16. York went on a 6-1 run to close the match and take the 2-1 lead.

The Eagles battled valiantly in the fourth set, as York would be unable to put away their guests early in the frame. The Spartans led 15-9 but Mary Washington tied the game at 19 thanks to a 10-4 run as the Eagles tried to force a decisive fifth set. The Spartans got an Alysse Beshore kill to take a 20-19 lead. The Eagles tied the set for an eighth time at 21-21 but York scored four of the final five points of the set to close out the win.

York received a balanced effort as no one Spartan had double figures in kills. Beshore led York with nine kills while fellow senior Alishia Waltermyer banged out seven kills to go along with five block assists and one solo block. Junior Cortni Rentzel handed out 26 assists while sophomore standout Ashley Rineman recorded a team-high 15 digs from her libero position. Rentzel also had 11 digs and two service aces for the Green and White. Defensive specialist Jana Arentz was third Spartan in double figures in digs with 11. Junior Heather Bucher played another all-around game with six kills, eight digs, two assists, a service ace, three block assists and a solo block.

Hannah Lawson and Tola Adebanjo led the Eagles with six kills each. Lawson and Leslie Truesdale led the Eagles defensively as they each notched a match-high 16 digs. Katie Shiflett registered 15 assists while Sammy Hogue chipped in with seven helpers of her own.

The Spartans will put their win streak on the line on Tuesday night when they host Stevenson University in another key Capital Athletic Conference match. The match at Charles Wolf Gymnasium is slated for a 7:00 pm start.

Cortni Rentzel photo courtesy of Scott Guise