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St. Vincent wins ECAC opener
Story and Photo Courtesy of the St. Vincent Athletics Site
The Lady Bearcats defeated Penn State-Behrend 3-1 in the opening
round of the 2010 ECAC South Region Volleyball Championship
Tournament in front of a packed Carey Center.
Scores were 25-18, 22-25, 25-23, and 25-14.
WIth the victory, the top-seeded Lady Bearcats earn the right to
host the ECAC semifinals and finals on Saturday afternoon in the
Carey Center.
Taylor Guido led the way offensively for Saint Vincent, posting 13
kills, while Diana Petrovich added 12, Dawn Timko seven, and
Natalie Hozak six. Devin McGrath posted 38 assists and five
kills, while Timko, Petrovich, and McGrath each notched two blocks
apiece.
In the evening's opener, the Lady Bearcats jumped out to a 5-2
lead, with Guido posting three of the points, before Behrend
bounced back with a 5-1 run to jump in front 7-6. The Lady
Bearcats then put together a rally, scoring five of the next six
points, capped off with a Brittany Hauser block, to go in front
11-7.
The hosts kept the momentum, and after four Behrend errors and
emphatic kills by Petrovich and Timko, increased their lead to
18-11. The Lions eventually pulled to within 18-14, but Saint
Vincent pulled away down the stretch, with Hozak ending the set
with a kill to give SVC the 25-18 decision.
Things started out the same for SVC in the second set, as the Lady
Bearcats jumped out to an 8-4 lead, with Hauser, McGrath, and Guido
tallying two kills apiece. This time, Behrend put together a
big rally, tying the match at 9-9 before capping off a 12-4 run to
go up 18-12.
The Lady Bearcats looked to p ut together another late rally, and
after a kill from Kaley Burkardt, found themselves down just 24-22,
but Behrend would put the set away on the next serve to even the
match at 1-1 with the 25-22 win.
The third set was also close throughout, with the teams sharing
the first five points, before SVC embarked on a 6-1 run to go up
11-6 on back-to-back kills from Petrovich. The Lions would
eventually tie the game at 15-15, 16-16, 17-17, and 18-18, before
kills from Guido and Petrovich gave SVC some cushion at 21-19.
Again, the Lions would come right back, tying the game at 22
apiece before taking a 23-22 lead. However, SVC would storm
back, with Guido tying the set at 23-23, and Hozak putting away the
final two kills to win the game 25-23.
In the third set, Behrend kept the momentum, taking a 4-1 lead,
before Saint Vincent awoke in a big way. Back-to-back points
from Petrovich, followed by a kill from Guido, gave the Lady
Bearcats their first lead of the set at 5-4, but it was just the
beginning of a furious Saint Vincent rally.
A Timko block would put SVC in front 7-4, and three Behrend errors
would complete a 10-0 Lady Bearcat run that would make the score
12-4. The eight-point advantage was more than enough
for the hosts, as SVC would eventually open up a 10-point lead at
22-12 on a Petrovich kill. A put-down from Emily Rosati
made the score 24-14, before the match ended on a Lion error that
would finish the scoring at 25-14.
The victory improves the Lady Bearcats' record to 23-11, while the
Lions will end the season with a 19-12 mark. Saint Vincent
will return to action on Saturday, taking the court at 12 noon
against fourth-seeded Penn State-Altoona, which defeated Moravian
3-1 in quarterfinal action on Wednesday.
The 2:00 semifinal match will be between Bethany and
Swarthmore, while the championship match will take place at
5pm.
Live streaming video of all three Saturday matches will be
available online HERE.
