McKeesport, Pa. – The Penn State Greater Allegheny Volleyball team (8-11, 2-4) will be fighting for their playoff lives when they take on Penn State Beaver (12-8, 3-4) inside the Wunderly Gym at 7 p.m. With five games remaining on the schedule, three of which being at home, PSUGA will have to win three of the final five games to secure themselves a spot in the Penn State University Athletic Conference Playoffs.
The road to the playoffs took a hit last time out when PSUGA got swept by Penn State Mont Alto on Saturday 3-0. After a 25-14 first set loss, PSUGA battled in the second set of the day, but was unable to get any sustainable momentum going and dropped the final set 25-12 completing the sweep.
Alix Ellis (Derry, PA./Derry Area HS) continued her strong showing leading the team with 11 kills on 32 total attacks racking up a team leading 19.5 points. Ellis has had a strong freshman campaign ranking third in all of the PSUAC with 2.94 kills per set and 11th in kills with 138 on the season. Seiblesierra Ili (Barstow, CA./Barstow HS) led the defensive side of the ball with a team high 12 digs and 18 assists in the loss.
The loss kept PSUGA in the fifth spot in the PSUAC West Division and on the outside looking in for one of the top four playoff spots. However, a slip up by Beaver over the weekend against PSU-DuBois set up this second chance for PSUGA to be able to overtake the fourth spot in the division. A win on Tuesday would put PSUGA in fourth in the division and get them one step closer to clinching a PSUAC Playoff Berth.
However, after that loss to PSU-DuBois, Beaver came back on Sunday and took a key matchup from PSU-Mont Alto 3-0. They gained momentum early taking the first two sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-18 to jump out to an early 2-0 lead. PSU-Mont Alto gave them all they could handle in the final set, but Beaver had enough in the tank to pull out a 27-25 win. Brooke Tomasko led Beaver in the win with 12 kills in 32 total attack opportunities.
PSU-Beaver has had PSUGA’s number in the all-time matchup with PSUGA having a record of just 4-16 all-time. Last season, Beaver swept the season series going 3-0 against PSUGA and only losing only two of the 11 sets played between the teams. The last win for PSUGA against Beaver came on August 29th of 2014 when PSUGA picked up a 3-0 win. PSUGA will look to break its current 12 game losing streak against Beaver.
Tip-off for Tuesday’s match is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Wunderly Gymnasium. There are only three home games left so come on out and catch all the action.
