OWINGS MILLS, MD – The York College Spartans made their Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth debut a memorable one as they extended preseason conference favorite Stevenson to five sets before falling 3-2 on Wednesday evening.
The teams alternated set wins before the Mustangs captured a 15-10 fifth set win.
 
Scores: Stevenson 3, York 2 (25-16, 23-25, 25-13, 22-23, 15-10)
Records: York 2-2, Stevenson 5-0
 
How It Happened
• The first set was back-and-forth as the Mustangs led 16-14. Stevenson ripped off a 9-2 run to capture the first set 25-16.
• In the second set, the Mustangs led 5-4 early. The Green and White went on a 9-1 run to forge a 13-6 lead. The Spartan lead grew to 16-8 but Stevenson didn't go away as the Mustangs scored five quick points to trim the Spartan lead tow 16-13. The Mustangs battled back to forge a 19-18 lead. After a timeout, the Spartans scored six of the next eight points for the 24-21 lead. A Spartan service error and attack error allowed Stevenson to draw to within one but Tyler Williams banged out a kill for the next point as the Spartans evened the match at one set apiece.
• In the third set, the squads were tied at eight, 16 points into the third game. Stevenson smacked the Spartans with a 13-1 run that turned a close set into a blowout. The Mustangs eventually won the set 25-13.
• The fourth set saw the two teams again split the first 16 points. The game continued to be close as the largest lead was 19-16 in favor of the hosts. The Mustangs pushed the lead to 21-17 but York responded with an 8-1 run that was capped by a Williams service ace to force a decisive fifth set.
• The fifth set opened with the teams splitting the first 10 points of the set. Stevenson scored four of the next five points to take a 9-6 lead. York drew to within a point at 11-10 but the Mustangs notched the final four points of the match to earn the conference opening win.
 
Spartan Leaders
Megan Rizzi: 15 kills, 3 service aces, 13 digs
Tyler Williams: 12 kills, 7 service aces, 3 block assists, 6 digs
Abby Diehl: 32 assists, 2 service aces, 3 block assists, 10 digs
Jasmine Doguin: 14 digs, 1 service ace, 3 assists
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans fall to 13-8 in their all-time series against Stevenson as the Mustangs have won two straight in the series … the Mustangs have never lost a MAC Commonwealth regular season game as they improve to 67-0 overall since joining the league in 2012 while they are 83-0 including the Commonwealth playoffs … the Mustangs are the Commonwealth favorite according to the preseason coaches poll while York was picked to finish fourth … senior Tyler Williams recorded a career-best seven service aces in the match … sophomore Megan Rizzi continues to have a strong start to her Spartan career as she set a new career best with 15 kills in the match … Rizzi also tied a career high with 13 digs in the match … York hit a season-worst .103 in the loss … the Spartans had a season high 13 service aces … York had another 16 service errors in the match as they now have 69 in their four matches.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return to Wolf Gymnasium on Saturday to host a tri-match with Penn State Harrisburg and Keuka. The Spartans face the Lions from Harrisburg in the opening match at 11 am followed by Harrisburg and Keuka squaring off at 1:00 pm. The Spartans then face Keuka in the day's final match at 3:00 pm.