Women's Volleyball | 9/4/2010 9:29:15 PM
FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The West Liberty University volleyball team got its season off to a flying start this weekend by winning three of its four matches at the Falcon Fest Tournament hosted by Fairmont State.
Coach Brooke Turner's Hilltoppers swept their Saturday matches against Chowan (N.C.) and Concord and knocked off Notre Dame (Ohio) College on Saturday morning before dropping its only match of the weekend to perennial Atlantic Region power Edinboro (Pa.) in Saturday's afternoon's finale.
Melissa Pierzchala keyed Friday's impressive three-game sweep of defending Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion Chowan with 8 kills and 7 digs. Abby McCreery chipped in with 15 assists while Jennifer Torrence led the Hilltoppers with a dozen digs.
West Liberty lost the first game of the Concord match but stormed back with three straight wins to take the decision in the non-league affair. Rachel Ziegler hammered home 15 kills while Brittany Albanese posted a double-double with 28 assists and 10 digs. Pierzchala just missed a double-double with 10 kills and 9 digs while McCreery added 15 assists and Torrence was charted with 14 digs.
The Hilltoppers jumped out to a 2-0 lead against Notre Dame and coasted to a 3-1 win. Pierzchala had a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs while Anne Edwards added 13 kills. Albanese just missed a double-double with 24 assists and 9 digs while McCreery had 16 assists and Torrence delivered a game-high 19 digs.
It took an Edinboro team coming off three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to hand West Liberty its first loss of the season in Saturday's final match. Edwards paced the Hilltoppers with 7 kills while McCreery had 11 assists and Torrence had 9 digs.
West Liberty returns home to host West Virginia Tech on Tuesday. The Hilltoppers' home opener is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at the ASRC.
VOLLEYBALL
West Liberty 3, Chowan 0
(25-21, 25-23, 25-22)
WEST LIBERTY
Melissa Pierzchala 8-1-0; Emily Mellie 6-0-0; Anne Edwards 5-0-3; Rachel Ziegler 5-0-1; Alexandra Kowalski 3-0-3; Sarah Mathias 2-0-2; Brittany Albanese 1-1-0; Abby McCreery 1-0-0; Jennifer Torrence 0-2-0; Totals 31-4-7.5.
Assists - Abby McCreery 15; Brittany Albanese 11.
Digs - Jennifer Torrence 12; Melissa Pierzchala 7
CHOWAN
Karina Monroe 9-0-13; Monica Ruffin 5-0-4; Taylor Jones 5-0-1; A. McCollough 2-0-2; Callie Armistead 0-0-2; Totals 21-0-15.0.
Assists - Callie Armistead 23.
Digs - Tara Thomalla 7; A. McCollough 3
West Liberty d. Concord
(17-25, 25-18, 26-24, 25-20)
CONCORD
Amber Miller 10-2-4; Kayla Martin 7-0-6; Rebecca Lovejoy 6-0-3; Emily Wilson 5-0-4; Tori Formadel 3-0-3; Jasmin Sutherland 2-0-0; Helen Theisen 2-3-1; Totals 35-5-12.5.
Assists - Helen Theisen 18; Meredith Shifley 10.
Digs - Emily Wilson 10; Meredith Shifley 9; Allie Pennington 8; Amber Miller 8
WEST LIBERTY
Rachel Ziegler 15-0-1; Melissa Pierzchala 10-4-1; Emily Mellie 8-1-4; Anne Edwards 4-0-3; Amie Riethmiller 4-0-3; Alexandra Kowalski 3-0-2; Brittany Albanese 1-3-0; Abby McCreery 0-2-0; Totals 45-10-9.0.
Assists – Brittany Albanese 28; Abby McCreery 15.
Digs - Jennifer Torrence 14; Brittany Albanese 10; Melissa Pierzchala 9
West Liberty d. Notre Dame
(25-23, 25-23, 14-25, 25-20)
WEST LIBERTY
Melissa Pierzchala 14-0-0; Anne Edwards 13-0-5; Emily Mellie 9-2-2; Rachel Ziegler 5-0-2; Sarah Mathias 4-0-4; April Salyer 1-1-0; Amie Riethmiller 1-0-1; Brittany Albanese 0-1-0; Haylee Strause 0-1-0; Alexandra Kowalski 0-0-2; Jennifer Torrence 0-1-0; Abby McCreery 0-1-1; Totals 47-7-11.0.
Assists - Brittany Albanese 24; Abby McCreery 16.
Digs - Jennifer Torrence 19; Melissa Pierzchala 11; April Salyer 9; Brittany Albanese 9
NOTRE DAME
Brianne Schmansky 18-0-2; Kari Kincannon 13-0-0; Jessica Suvak 12-0-3; Taylor Pugliese 7-1-0; Taylor Thomas 4-0-2; Natalie Houdek 1-0-3; Cristin Brown 0-1-0; Totals 55-2-6.0.
Assists - Taylor Pugliese 34.
Digs - Cristin Brown 14; Taylor Pugliese 13; Jessica Suvak 10
Edinboro d. West Liberty
(25-22, 25-16, 25-14)
WEST LIBERTY
Anne Edwards 7-0-4; Mariah Ludovici 5-0-0; Alexandra Kowalski 2-0-0; Emily Mellie 2-0-1; Rachel Ziegler 2-0-0; Sarah Mathias 0-0-2; Amie Riethmiller 0-0-1; Abby McCreery 0-2-0; Totals 18-2-5.0.
Assists - Abby McCreery 11.
Digs - Jennifer Torrence 9; April Salyer 4
EDINBORO
Seth Sullivan 14-1-2; Angela Groshner 10-0-1; Beyaca Martin 9-0-3; Megan Osysko 5-1-1; Gina Boothe 5-0-1; Kelcie Hellmer 4-0-4; Erika West 0-1-0; Maureen Tilert 0-4-0; Totals 47-7-7.0.
Assists - Megan Osysko 35.
Digs – Maureen Tilert 16; Angela Groshner 10
