McKeesport, Pa. – The Penn State Greater Allegheny Volleyball team (4-8, 2-5) has a busy weekend ahead of them as they will take part in four Penn State University Athletic Conference matchups between Saturday and Sunday, looking to gain some ground in the jumbled up PSUAC conference standings.
The action all starts on Saturday at 2 p.m. when PSUGA does battle with Penn State Hazleton on the campus of Penn State Beaver. Then, they will finish day one with a match against Penn State Lehigh Valley at 4 p.m. before heading home for a quad-match of their own on Sunday. They will do battle with Penn State Worthington Scranton at 12 p.m. and Penn State Wilkes-Barre at 2 p.m. both inside the Wunderly Gymnasium.
PSUGA currently sits in 9th place in the PSUAC with a record of 2-5 in conference play. They are just one game behind 8th place Penn State Schuylkill who sits at 3-4. The best case scenario would put PSUGA at 6-5 and in great position to make up for a slow start and push for a playoff spot, however, the worst case scenario puts PSUGA at 2-9 and out of a playoff spot. A lot can happen this weekend for PSUGA and they will take it one match at a time.
Senior Laura Vazquez Diaz (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Cupey Maria Montessori) is looking to lead her team to their second straight PSUAC playoff appearance. She is the offensive leader for this team with 57 total attacks to lead the team. Marina Puharre Selmi (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Objectivo) and Kaylee Holtzman (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) each lead the team with 11 kills on the season.
On paper, all four of the match-ups this weekend have gone PSUGA’s way. Their best record comes against PSU-Worthington Scranton who they own a 5-1 record against since 2011/12. They also serve very well against PSU-Wilkes-Barre, who they are 4-2 against in that same time span. They have seen a little resistance against the teams they will face on Saturday, however, as they are 2-1 against PSU-Lehigh Valley and are 3-3 against PSU-Hazleton.
Last season, they would play these four teams in succession just like they do this year. They would drop the opening match to PSU-Lehigh Valley three sets to one but came back to beat PSU-Hazleton three sets to two on day one. Then, they would win both contests on day two against PSU-Worthington Scranton and PSU-Wilkes-Barre taking both three sets to one.
The matches on Saturday are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. on the campus of Penn State Beaver. Sunday’s contests are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. inside the Wunderly Gymnasium.
