ST. DAVID'S, PA – The York College volleyball team staged a stirring comeback but fell just short as Eastern University edged the Spartans in a key MAC Commonwealth contest in St. David's, PA. The loss snaps York's school record conference win streak at six. The loss locks the Spartans in as the three seed for next week's MAC Commonwealth tournament. York will travel to either Stevenson or Eastern in the tournament semifinals.
 
Scores: York 2, Eastern 3 (25-17, 25-12, 23-25, 20-25, 15-8)
Records: York 16-8 (6-2 MACC), Eastern 21-4 (6-1 MACC)
 
How It Happened
• The first set was close until the Eagles hit York with a 6-0 run that opened up an 11-5 Eastern lead. York got to within five at 18-3 but Eastern answered by scoring three of the next four points to take a 21-14 lead before they closed out the set with a 25-17 first set victory.
• Eastern seized early control of the second set as raced out to a 7-2 lead. York battled back to cut the lead to 8-6 but Eastern ripped off a 9-1 spurt to take a 17-7 lead. York cut the lead to seven before Eastern fashioned a 7-1 run to end the set 25-12.
• The start of the third set looked like the Eagles were going to close out the Green and White in three sets as they sprinted out to an 11-6 lead. York trimmed the Eagle lead to 21-20 before the Eagles scored two straight to take a 23-30 lead. York closed out the set with five straight points to stay alive. After an Eagle service error and attack error, York got kills from Megan Rizzi and Sydney Wilber before an Eastern attack error allowed York to get on the board.
• The fourth set saw the Spartans work out to a 12-9 lead. The Eagles cut the York lead to 14-13 but the Spartans ripped off a set-changing 6-0 spurt to push the lead to 20-13. Eastern scored the next three points but York scored five the final nine points of the set to capture the 25-20 set four win, setting the stage for a dramatic fifth set.
• Eastern jumped on York early in the fifth set as they led 6-2 through eight points. The teams traded the next six points as Eastern led 9-5. Two more points from Eastern gave the Eagles an 11-5 lead. York got kills from Claire Shorb and Alyssa Mott to get to within four points. However, the Eagles scored four of the final five points of the match to capture the dramatic win.
 
Spartan Leaders
Claire Shorb: 14 kills, .233 attack %, 1 service ace, 2 block assists, 3 digs
Jasmine Doguin: 11 digs, 4 assists, 2 service aces, 2 block assists
Tyler Williams: 9 kills, 11 digs, 1 assist, 1 service ace, 2 block assists
Megan Rizzi: 13 kills, 5 block assists, 9 digs
Alyssa Mott: 25 assists, 3 kills, 1 service ace, 2 block assists, 8 digs
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans are now 2-12 all-time against Eastern as York has lost 11 straight in the series … the loss snaps York's six-match conference win streak … the Spartans have clinched the third seed in next week's MAC Commonwealth Tournament … the top two seeds will be Eastern and Stevenson but both teams each have a league game remaining … York falls to 2-5 on the road … York was picked to finish fourth in the preseason coaches poll behind Stevenson, Eastern and Messiah … York is now 2-3 in five set matches for the year … the Spartans have scored 62 fifth set points while their opponents have notched 69 fifth set points.
 
Up Next
The Spartans close out their 2021 regular season on Thursday night as they host Dickinson College. The match is slated for a 7:00 pm start at Charles Wolf Gymnasium.