Women's Volleyball Battles Hard in Non-Conference Defeat

McKeesport, Pa- The Penn State Greater Allegheny women's volleyball team fought through two tough sets and narrowly missed victory in the third, before falling to Westmoreland CC 3-0 (13-25, 11-25, 25-27). 

  GA was stuck behind the eight ball early, trailing 6-0 in set one.  They quickly countered with a 5-1 run, capped off by a kill from sophomore Christina Floyd (St. John Neumann, PA).  Another WCCC run followed, pushing themselves in front, 13-5.  Greater Allegheny bounced back yet again, when a service ace from Floyd brought the score to 15-12.  A final Westmoreland run capped off the set, with the visitors winning, 25-13.

  Set two began similar to the first, with GA finding themselves behind, 4-0.  Two kills from sophomore Alyssa Finocchi (Baldwin, PA) made the score 6-3, but a WCCC counter pushed the score to 16-7.  Freshman Kayla Franklin (Thurston, MI) drilled a kill to prolong the match at 24-11, before Westmoreland earned the final point.

  Determined to fight their way back in the third set, Greater Allegheny quickly jumped in front;  a kill from Finocchi gave GA a 10-6 lead, then a service ace from sophomore Audra Besnak (Steel Valley, PA) increased the lead to 12-7.  Westmoreland would be able to tie the score at 12-12, setting up an intense, back-and-forth remainder of the set.  Five ties later, Greater Allegheny led 25-24, following a clutch kill from freshman Haley Worden (Madonna, PA).  However, WCCC would overcome the furious, GA rally, and earned the set's final points.

  Alyssa Finocchi led the Greater Allegheny attack with eight kills, to go along with her 10 digs.  Christina Floyd drilled four kills and had two blocks, while Haley Worden had one kill and 10 assists. 

  GA's record drops to 5-8 overall but remains 3-2 in the PSUAC.  They will be back looking for a win this Thursday, October 4, when they travel to Pitt-Greensburg.  The non-conference match is set for 7 PM.