Monaca, PA. - The Penn State Greater Allegheny Volleyball team (16-8, 7-3) had their 13-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday when they fell to Penn State Beaver (16-7, 7-3) 3-0. The loss moves PSUGA into a tie for second place in the Penn State University Athletic Conference West Division as the season comes down to its final two games.
It was a competitive game throughout the night with both teams fighting for a chance to host in the first round of the PSUAC playoffs. A win for PSUGA would have put them on the fast path to doing just that while a loss makes things a little trickier.
The first set went back and forth throughout the set and PSUGA forced a win-by-two scenario tying the set at 24-24. However, PSU-Beaver would score the final two points of the set and took a 26-24 set one win and a 1-0 lead. It was the first time PSUGA had been down 1-0 since their game against PSU-New Kensington on September 24th and forced them to play from behind.
PSU-Beaver would come on strong in the second set and held PSUGA to just 16 points and took a 2-0 lead into the third set. PSUGA hung right with their opponents but weren't able to overtake them falling 25-23 and losing the match 3-0, their first loss since September 21st in their first match-up against Beaver this season.
The PSUGA offense that has been so potent over the last several games was held in check throughout the night. Sueriah Timsah (Mesquite, TX./West Mesquite HS) led the offense with seven kills while Alix Ellis (Derry, PA./Derry Area HS) added five kills in the loss. Andrea Ghiloni (Granville, OH./Granville HS) added 23 assists on the day and is now just seven assists away from the PSUGA single-season assists record.
PSUGA now moves into a tie for the second spot in the PSUAC West Division with two more conference games to go. They still have a chance to host in the first round of the playoffs. They need to focus on winning their final two games and see how the rest of the conference plays out.
The PSUGA Volleyball team will be back in action when they host a home tri-match on Saturday. They will start the day against Penn State Fayette at noon and follow it up against Kent State Tuscarawas at 4 p.m.
