Women's Volleyball Loses Thriller
New Kensington, Pa- The Penn State Greater Allegheny Women's Volleyball team traveled to Penn State New Kensington, where it suffered a hard-fought, 3-0 (20-25, 22-25, 27-29) loss.
Set 1 had the Greater Allegheny women jump out to a quick 2-0 lead. After great back and forth action, Penn State New Kensington held onto a narrow 21-17 lead. GA would get to within two, at 22-20, but was unable to prevent New Kensington from scoring the set's final three points. New Kensington would escape with a 25-20 win.
In set 2, Penn State New Kensington sprinted out to a huge early lead, 10-3. Despite getting down 17-9, Penn State Greater Allegheny would find a way to claw back into the set. Four straight GA points moved the score to a manageable 17-13, forcing a New Kensington timeout. After the quick pause, New Kensington regained their composure, and pushed the score to 23-18. Yet again, however, the Greater Allegheny women showed resilience, and closed the gap to 23-22. The tight score forced another New Kensington timeout. The next two points would go to the women from New Kensington, and they squeaked out a 25-22 win.
After two exciting sets, the third and final set would not disappoint. The two squads battled back and forth, in a set that saw 13 ties and 8 lead changes. Greater Allegheny would jump out to an early 8-2 lead, but the cushion quickly evaporated. Six straight points from New Kensington would tie the set at eight. The roller coaster ride continued deep into the set, with neither team being able to distance themselves. New Kensington saw first light, edging ahead 19-15, forcing a GA timeout. As they had done all night, Greater Allegheny would fight back to tie the score at twenty-two. Four lead changes and four ties over the remainder of the match, would set the tone for a thrilling ending. The GA women would earn a 27-26 lead, and had appeared to clinch the set on a New Kensington Attack Error. However, a questionable ruling would give New Kensington the point, tying the match. The final two points would be won by the home team, as New Kensington escaped with a 29-27 win, securing them a 3-0 match win.
A strong, total-team effort was put in by all the Greater Allegheny women. Six different GA players would land Kills: Freshmen Christina Floyd (6) (St. John Neumann), Audra Besnak (2) (Steel Valley), Alyssa Finocchi (9) (Baldwin), Megan Carroll (2) (Ramona Convent), Corinne Wilson (5) (Bethel Park) and Samantha Clark (4) (Steel Valley). Junior Helena Vasser (Schenley) turned in a strong defensive effort, adding 12 Digs.
After the loss, the Penn State Greater Allegheny Women's Volleyball team falls to 1-9 overall, and 0-3 in PSUAC play. GA will return home Saturday, September 24, as it faces off against PSUAC foes Penn State Brandywine and Penn State Schuylkill. The matches are set for 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM