MCKEESPORT, Pa- The Penn State Greater Allegheny women's volleyball team (4-6, 2-1) heads into an important weekend of PSUAC matches, with four conference matchups in just two days. The women will leave early Saturday morning to travel to Penn State Brandywine, where they take on Brandywine at 2 PM, then follow it up with a 4 PM match against Penn State Schuylkill. Back on the road Sunday morning, GA will travel to Penn State Mont Alto for a 12 PM match against Mont Alto, then end the weekend with a 2 PM match against Penn State York.
Although still early in conference play, a winning weekend could propel the women into a strong position for a PSUAC postseason berth. However, wins aren't the only thing head coach Tracy Gibbs will be looking for. "It is imperative that we improve our record with wins this weekend, but it is even more important, to the rest of the season, to get those wins by being a cohesive, strong team."
With two conference wins so far, a very attainable 3-1 weekend would already match last season's PSUAC win total. That fact alone stands as an example of the marked improvement this season, but the numbers indicate it as well. Four GA women have at least 15 kills, led by sophomores Alyssa Finocchi (Baldwin, PA) with 61 and Christina Floyd (St. John Neumann, PA) with 31. There has also been a stark improvement in defending opposing attacks, as five Greater Allegheny women have accumulated at least 25 digs: Finocchi (59), Floyd (34), sophomore Audra Besnak (Steel Valley, PA) (44), junior Helena Vasser (Schenley, PA) (29), and freshman Haley Worden (Madonna, PA) (32).
Other improvements that can't necessarily be found through statistics have also been a pleasant surprise to Gibbs. "The ladies are really connecting as a team this year. They are positive on the court, they support each other, they are communicating and they are creating the type of bond that teammates should have."
Greater Allegheny will look to build on its strong play so far this season, heading into the weekend's conference gauntlet.
Penn State Brandywine (4-3, 3-0) appears to serve as GA's most difficult hurdle this weekend, as they've won four straight matches by a combined score of 12-1. Brandywine relies on a balanced attack, with four players that have recorded 20 or more kills. Sophomore Brandy Flowers leads the team with 40 kills, and her output will need to be limited by Greater Allegheny in order to aid their chances. In their only meeting last season, Brandywine defeated GA 3-0 (10-25, 21-25, 8-25).
The remaining three Greater Allegheny opponents have combined for just a 3-12 overall record and a 3-6 PSUAC record. Penn State York has gone 3-1 so far this season, with two of their victories coming over Penn State Schuylkill (3-0) and Penn State Mont Alto (3-0). Mont Alto has struggled to an early 0-7 and 0-3 PSUAC start, while Schuylkill has started out 0-4 and 0-3 in the PSUAC. Last season, GA defeated York and Schuylkill by scores of 3-1 (25-17, 13-25, 25-21, 25-17) and 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 16-25, 15-7), respectively, while falling to Mont Alto 3-0 (5-25, 13-25, 20-25).
The busy weekend tips-off Saturday with a 2 PM start against Brandywine, followed by a 4 PM match against Schuylkill. Sunday's slate begins at noon against Mont Alto, then ends at 2 PM against York. A winning record this weekend could serve as a major springboard to a huge remainder of the season, and although it is still undoubtedly early in the conference schedule, it is never too early to start building toward a postseason berth.
