Shorewomen Defeat Arcadia & Delaware Valley, Fall to Penn State-Berks

READING, PA -- The Washington College volleyball team went 2-1 at a quad match hosted by Penn State-Berks today in Reading, PA. The Shorewomen (3-8) opened the day with a 25-17, 25-18, 25-18, sweep of Arcadia. Washington then swept Delaware Valley, 25-22, 25-3, 25-19 before falling to Penn State-Berks, 25-22, 25-17, 25-19.

In the first set against Arcadia, the Shorewomen used a 7-0 run to turn a 16-14 lead into a 23-14 cushion.   It was more of the same in the second set as Washington turned a 14-12 deficit into a 22-15 advantage by going on a 10-1 run. The Shorewomen controlled the third set, building double-digit leads three times.

Sophomore outside hitter Jenny Lee (Wilmington, DE/Mount Pleasant) finished with 10 kills against no errors in 18 attempts, as well as three aces, one solo block, and two assisted blocks, in the win over Arcadia.  Seven of her 10 kills came in the third set. junior outside hitter Alyssa Forget (River Vale, NJ/Pascack Valley) pounded down 10 kills of her own, while senior middle hitter Maria Whitman (Galesville, MD/Southern) added six kills, one solo block, and three assisted blocks. Freshman setter Lauren White (Huntingtown, MD/Huntingtown) handed out 27 assists, served three aces, and added nine digs, while senior libero Traci Daelemans (Tracys Landing, MD/Southern) finished with a match-high 13 digs. The Shorewomen hit .304 as a team in the match. 

Natasha Wetten led Arcadia with nine kills and nine digs, while Carlee Rossiter added 26 assists.

In the first set of the match between the Shorewomen and Delaware Valley, neither team led by more than two points until the Shorewomen ran off three in a row to take a 19-16 lead. The Aggies were unable to tie the score after that as Washington took a 1-0 lead in the match. In the second set, Washington raced out to a 13-1 lead, a run which included four aces by sophomore defensive specialist Rita Rivera (Plymouth Meeting, PA/Plymouth-Whitemarsh). The Shorewomen hit .438 (eight kills, one error, 16 attempts) in the second set, while the Aggies hit -.368 (one kill, eight errors, 19 attempts). The three points scored by Delaware Valley in the set were the fewest allowed by the Shorewomen in a set since the NCAA switched to rally scoring for the 2001 season. In the third set, the Shorewomen held a 21-14 lead before the Aggies ran off five straight points to cut the lead to two, but Washington scored the final four points of the match to get the win following a timeout.

Washington served 18 aces in the win over Delaware Valley, including a career-high nine by Rivera. Lee added six aces to go along with eight kills, while Forget had nine kills and Daelemans contributed 18 digs. White handed out 22 assists and added four kills.

Destinee Horning led the Aggies with seven kills, while Jen Keller had 11 digs. 

In the Shorewomen's final match of the day, Penn State-Berks scored four of the final five points of the first set to take a 1-0 lead in the match. In the second set, the Nittany Lions took control with a 5-0 run that opened up an 18-12 lead. The Shorewomen fended off three match points in the final set before Penn State-Berks closed out the match. 

Amy Shelton and Rachel Sweeney combined for 20 kills and no errors in 41 attempts for Penn-State Berks.  Shelton pounded down a match-best 12, while Sweeney tallied eight. Jerica Detsch added a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs, while Katie Sostak added 16 digs and Steph Semple finished with 11.  Glenda Nago contributed 30 assists and nine digs for the Nittany Lions.

Whitman led all Shorewomen with nine kills, while White turned in her first career double-double with 33 assists and a career-best 11 digs.  Forget tallied eight kills to bring her career total to 499, while Daelemans recorded 19 digs.

The Shorewomen return to action tomorrow with three matches at the Wesley Invitational, beginning at 9:00 a.m.