Roaring Lions Sweep in Home Conference Opener

September 22, 2011

UNIONTOWN, Pa. - The fourth-ranked Penn State Fayette Roaring Lions cruised to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-19) win over Penn State Beaver in PSUAC action Thursday night in the Community Center Main Arena. Fayette (10-3, 2-0) controlled the match throughout the evening, winning their 14th consecutive conference match, including three postseason wins.

Junior Leah Ambrosini (Connellsville, Pa.) led Fayette with 16 kills and sophomore Marney Hillen (Connellsville, Pa.) added seven.  Senior Katie Sleasman (Connellsville, Pa.) led the Roaring Lions with 16 assists and four digs in two sets, while freshman Emily Konter (Brownsville, Pa.) added eleven, nine in the second set alone.

The Roaring Lions hit .370 during the match, including 38 kills. Ten Fayette players notched a kill, and seven recorded aces.

Beaver took an early lead in set one, jumping out to a 3-0 lead behind two Fayette errors and an ace. The Roaring Lions answered with four unanswered points, including three kills from Ambrosini and a Sleasman ace to make it 4-3. The Lady Lions notched a kill and an ace before a service error tied the set at five apiece. The Roaring Lions took control of the match from there, as Ambrosini added a kill before freshman Marisa Wallace (Smithfield, Pa.) notched her first kill of the match. Ambrosini set down another point on a kill followed by a block to make it a 9-5 Fayette advantage. Beaver would take two of the next three points, but Fayette rallied for four consecutive points, including two kills from Hillen and two Lady Lion errors. Trailing 14-7, Beaver added a kill but the Roaring Lions would take four more points, including kills from Hillen and freshman Janelle Cooper (Mount Braddock, Pa.), to make it 18-8. Another Beaver point preceded two more Fayette points, the second of which was a block by Cooper. Beaver scrapped for three of the next four points, with Fayette's only point  coming from an Ambrosini kill, making it 21-12. However, Fayette would put the set away quickly, taking four of the final five points, including kills from Ambrosini, Sleasman and a final one from Hillen after a long rally to finish the set, 25-13.

The Roaring Lions would jump out to an early 10-3 advantage in set two, feeding off of kills from freshman Emily Caldwell (Belle Vernon, Pa.), sophomore Alaina Weiss (Monongahela, Pa.), sophomore Caitlin Fidel (Perryopolis, Pa.) and Ambrosini. Freshman Katlyn Salisbury (Madison, Pa.) also notched an ace in the run, as Fayette looked to put the set away early. But Beaver woul answer with three of the next four points to make it 10-6 in favor of the Roaring Lions. Once again, however, Fayette would find their junior captain as Ambrosini notched three kills in the next five points, as Fayette made a 5-0 run. Caldwell and Salisbury also added kills in the run to give the Roaring Lions a 15-6 lead. Following a Beaver point, Salisbury set down a kill and a block before Beaver answered with a point of their own to make it 17-8. However, another 3-0 run from Fayette, including kills from Salisbury and Ambrosini, made it 20-8 and forced a Lady Lion timeout. Sophomore Victoria Kearns (Uniontown, Pa.) notched an ace out of the timeout, but Beaver would again comeback with five of the next six points to make it 22-13. Weiss secured the only Fayette point during that stretch, adding a kill for the Roaring Lions. Caldwell put down her third kill of the set to end the run, and a Fidel ace made it 24-13. After a service error, Caldwell put set two away off a Konter set, leading Fayette to a 25-14 win.

Fayette jumped out to another early advantage in set three, this time to the tune of 8-3, on the strength of a Cooper ace, and kills from Ambrosini and freshman Samantha Helmantoler (Monongahela, Pa.). Beaver did not help themselves during the Fayette run, as they committed five errors. The Lady Lions would bounce back with two of the next three points before Hillen made it 10-5 with a kill. After another Beaver error, the Lady Lions would take four of the next five points, including three in a row, to close the gap to 12-9. A Hillen kill is all Fayette could muster in the stretch, but the Roaring Lions would answer with four straight points of their own, including an Ambrosini kill, two Wallace aces and a Cooper kill to make it 16-9. Fayette sandwiched errors around an Ambrosini kill before a Beaver ace and two more Lady Lion points made it 17-14. Three of the next four points would go to the host, as Sleasman and Hillen notched kills in the 3-1 run. Beaver would answer with a block and a kill, but two consecutive errors by the Lady Lions gave Fayette a five point lead at 22-17. A Fayette error was followed by a Beaver error before Hillen served up an ace to make it game point. A service error by Fayette gave Beaver a chance, but Ambrosini put the match away with her final kill for the Fayette win, 25-19.

Fayette heads into a weekend of quad matches, and five games in five days. The Roaring Lions travel to Penn State Greater Allegheny on Saturday, Sept. 24 for a noon showdown with Penn State Schuylkill before taking on Penn State Brandywine at 1:30 p.m. On Sunday, Sept. 25, the Roaring Lions host Penn State York, Penn State Mont Alto and Greater Allegheny in their own quad match. Fayette opens up with York at noon with Mont Alto to follow at 1:30 p.m. Fayette's Sunday matches will be contested in the Community Center Main Arena, while Greater Allegheny will take on Mont Alto and York in the Maltho Gymnasium at noon and 1:30 p.m., respectively. The Roaring Lions then travel to Penn State DuBois on Tuesday, Sept. 27 for a 7:00 p.m. showdown before a three day hiatus.