YORK Pa. – The York College volleyball team split a pair of matches on Friday night on day one of the York College Spartan Volleyball Classic, losing to FDU-Florham in their first match 3-2 and then beating Alvernia University 3-1 in their second match.

The win and the loss puts the Spartan's record at 6-12 this year while the win for FDU improved the Devils to 12-2 and the loss for Alvernia dropped the Crusaders' record to 8-7.

Fairleigh Dickinson trailed early in the first set but then went on a 10-4 run which gave the Devils a 13-8 lead. The teams seemed to alternate points for the rest of the set. What really helped the Spartans get back into it was they were able to prevent giving up back-to-back points from then on. The Spartans finished the set on a 9-5 run to win the set 25-23.

The Devils fired back in the second set as they scored the set's first five points and 15 of the first 19. The Devils team chemistry seemed to be much stronger in the second set as they set each other up perfectly every opportunity they could. The strong teamwork allowed them to win the second set 25-10.

The Spartans responded strongly in the third set. Trailing 6-2, York went on a 15-4 run to take a 17-10 lead. The Devils came back scoring seven of the next eight points to pull within a point but the Spartans didn't panic. Thanks to the superb shot placement of senior Alison Dorsey (Elkridge, Md. / Long Reach) the Spartans were able to hold off the Devils and win the third set 25-22.

The Devils turned up the intensity in the fourth set starting the set on an 8-3 run. The Spartans were able to get a few points and stay within striking distance however they still trailed 13-7. The Devils decided that that was close enough and ended the set on a 12-3 run to take the fourth set 25-10.

The Spartans seemed to be a little worn out during the decisive fifth set. The Devils continued their strong play as they won eight of the first ten points in the set. The Spartans tried to show some life by winning the next two points to pull to within four points. But in the end, the Devils were too good, winning the fifth set 15-4.

Kristi Wong led the way for the Devils on offense as she contributed 10 kills with just two errors for a .333 and 14 assists. Lauren Harris also made her presence felt on offense as she had 12 kills with just two errors for a .238. On defense, Wong and Harris each had ten digs. Codi Inloes-Williams had a solid all-around match as she contributed a team-high 19 assists, two aces, and nine digs. Alex Mueller led the team with 19 digs.

The Devils hit .215 for the match and committed just 14 errors on the night.

Spartan sophomore Kelly Cavey (Hampstead, Md. / Hereford) led the team in kills against the Devils with a career-high 16 and posted a .200 attack percentage. Freshman Eryn Brady (King of Prussia, Pa. / Upper Merion) and junior Sarah Wukitch (East Greeneville, Pa. / Southern Lehigh) were efficient for the Spartan offense. Brady finished the match with seven kills and a .108 attack percentage while Wukitch finished with three kills, a match-high 35 assists, and two service aces. Senior Katherine Graziano (Elkridge, Md. / Archbishop Spalding) and freshman Brooke Krebs (Hanover, Pa. / New Oxford) led the Spartans defense with 31 digs and 21 digs, respectively.

The Spartans finished the match with just a .065 for the match with 32 errors, including 12 service errors.

The first set of the match against Alvernia was a back and forth affair with neither team being able to score more than two consecutive points. Through the first 24 points of the set, the teams were tied nine times. The Spartans took a 15-12 lead but then the Crusaders went on an incredible 13-2 run to win the set 25-17.

The teams alternated points to start the set just like they did in the first but this time it was the Spartans who made a run. Trailing Alvernia 7-6, York went on an 8-1 run to take a 14-8 lead. Alvernia fought back and tied the score at 18 late. But the Spartans finished the set on a 7-1 run to take the second set 25-19.

The third set was the most evenly matched set the Spartans had all night. The score was tied 12 different times but both teams were able to put together scattered 4-0 and 5-0 runs throughout the set. Trailing 18-16, Alvernia used a 6-1 run to take a 22-19 lead. York fought back and closed the set on a 6-1 run of their own and took the third set 25-23.

The Spartans saved their best set of the night for their last set of the night. Trailing 6-3, they used a 15-4 run to put the dagger through the hearts of the Crusaders. The Spartans finished the set on an overall 22-9 run.

Krebs led the way for the Spartan offense in the second match as she contributed a team-high 14 kills and .233 attack percentage. Cavey had another solid match on offense as she totaled eight kills and two service aces. Wukitch led the way in assists again with a team-high 38. Graziano had another solid match on defense as she totaled 34 digs. Freshman Heather Secrist (Spring Grove, Pa. / Spring Grove) was second on the team in digs as she recorded 15 and Krebs also contributed 14 digs.

The Spartans were much more efficient against Alvernia as they finished the match with a .163 with just 18 errors and eight service aces.

The Spartans return to action on Saturday for day two of the York College Spartan Volleyball Classic with matches at noon against Albright College and at 2:00 pm against King's College.

Recap written by Will Wallace – Athletic Communications Student Assistant

Kelly Cavey photo courtesy of David Sinclair