Delhi, NY – The University of Valley Forge Women's Volleyball team traveled to Delhi, NY for a tri-match against the Dean College Bulldogs and the host, the Broncos of Suny Dehli.
The Patriots were led on offense by Senior
Megan Freed (Souderton, PA) with a total of 38 kills between the two matches.
Kaitlyn Hess (York, PA) recorded 54 assists throughout the day.
UVF vs. Dean
The Patriots opened the day with an impressive 4 set win over the Bulldogs. UVF held Dean to just a .058 hitting percentage throughout the four games.
Both the Patriots and Bulldogs traded blows and neither team was able to pull away early. With the score tied at 23,
Megan Freed converted her fifth kill of the set to give Valley Forge a slight 1-point lead.
Hannah Hawkryluk's serve was too much for the Bulldogs to handle and the Patriots took set #1 by a score of 25-23.
The second set was all Valley Forge. The Patriots used runs of 2, 4, and 5 to open up a 4-point lead. With Valley Forge leading 19-15,
Kaitlyn Hess took the ball for the Patriots and would serve out the set. Kills my
Mariah Straker,
Giana Brown, and
Megan Freed clinched the convincing second set win 25-15.
Facing defeat, Dean needed a 3
rd set win to stay alive in the match. The Bulldogs managed to use a late 6-0 scoring run to win set 3 by a final score of 25-20.
Heading into the 4
th set, the Patriots wanted to end the match and avoid playing their 2
nd consecutive five set match in two days. With Valley Forge leading 10-8 and the game still in doubt, UVF leaned on its two veterans in
Kaitlyn Hess and
Megan Freed. Hess and Freed each recorded a kill to extend the Patriot lead to 3. Newcomer
Mariah Straker rose up and drilled a kill over the Bulldogs defense and after 4 service points from
Lindsay LeSueur, the Patriots pushed their lead to 7 (16-9). Valley Forge continued to keep their foot on the throttle and would go on a scoring barrage. UVF won the next 9 out of 11 points to earn their 2
nd victory of the season. The Patriots closed out the Bulldogs by a final score of 25-12.
UVF vs. Suny Delhi
UVF started their second match of the day slow. Suny Delhi used the momentum of playing on their home floor to cruise to a 25-10 first set win.
Set #2 would provide a different outcome. The set went back and forth with each team trading points. With the score tied at 19, The Patriots again leaned on their veterans.
Megan Freed and
Kaitlyn Hess each converted on a kill to give UVF a narrow lead. Senior
Lindsay LeSueur served the Patriots to three straight points and the Patriots led by score of 22-19. Both teams would again trade points but freshmen
Mariah Straker put the game away with her second kill of the set. The Patriots bounced back and took set #2 by a score of 25-22.
The Patriots looked like a determined group in game 3. The score tied at 4,
Lindsay LeSueur served the Patriots to 7 straight points and UVF raced out to an 11-4 lead. Valley Forge would use another monster run. This time it was
Chanda Carson's turn. Carson served the Patriots to 6 straight points and thanks to kills from
Lindsay LeSueur and
Kaitlyn Hess the Patriots led 22-12. UVF went on to win the 3
rd set by a final score of 25-14.
Unfortunately for Valley Forge, it would be difficult sledding over the next two sets. The Broncos gained the momentum back and took set #4 25-19. The Patriots and Broncos were headed to a 5
th and final set. UVF held an 8-6 lead after a kill by sophomore
Hannah Hawkryluk. The Broncos battled back to tie the game and would later use a 3-point scoring run to build a 12-9 lead. The Patriots managed to bring the score to within 1 at 13-12 but it was too late. Back-to-back Delhi kills closed out the set and the match. The Patriots fell by a final score of 15-12.
With the tri-match split, the Patriots move to 2-2 on the young season.
