No. 3 Volleyball Suffers Setback at Point Park

October 11, 2011

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Penn State Fayette Roaring Lions volleyball team lost its first match in nearly a month, falling to NAIA member Point Park, 3-1 (25-27, 25-22, 15-25, 16-25). The loss snaps Fayette's 14-game winning streak, although their conference streak of 25 straight is still intact.

Senior Katie Sleasman (Connellsville, Pa.) paced the Roaring Lions (21-4, 13-0 PSUAC) with a season-high 32 assists, while junior Leah Ambrosini (Connellsville, Pa.) tallied 11 kills. Freshman Samantha Helmantoler (Monongahela, Pa.) added seven kills for Fayette, while sophomore Caitlin Fidel (Perryopolis, Pa.) notched five.

The first set saw seven ties, although Fayette only held one lead on the strength of a Helmantoler kill to open the match. Point Park would hold a 6-3 advantage before Fayette battled back to tie the score at 6-6. The teams would match each other with 3-0 runs over the next six points, as the Pioneers jumped out to a 9-6 lead before relinquising it to freshman Katlyn Salisbury's (Madison, Pa.) kill and two Point Park errors. The next eight points were once again split, this time in spurts of two, to make it 13-13, before another 3-0 Point Park run made it 16-13. Freshman Janelle Cooper (Mount Braddock, Pa.) notched a kill that made it 16-15, but Point Park answered with five of the next seven points. Helmantoler spurred a Fayette rally with three kills that helped make it a 23-22 Pioneer advantage, and despite having a set point, the Pioneers could not put Fayette away immediately. An attack error by the Pioneers and a kill from freshman Emily Konter (Brownsville, Pa.) knotted the score at 24-24. Another Point Park set point followed after a block, but Ambrosini tied it once again with her first kill of the day. However, Point Park would put set one away with a kill and a block to make it 27-25.

Fayette started set two in the same fashion as they ended set one, making a nice run. Ambrosini sandwiched kills around an ace from sophomore Marney Hillen (Connellsville, Pa.) to give Fayette a 3-0 lead, but Point Park managed to tie the score at 3-3. After taking a 5-4 lead, the Pioneers allowed a Fidel kill to tie the score before taking two of the next three points. However, after Helmantoler and Konter kills, the Roaring Lions would not trail again in the set. Point Park managed to tie the score at 8-8, but five straight Roaring Lions' points gave Fayette a commanding 13-8 lead. Point Park answered with four of the next five points, but Fidel ended the rally with a kill and Sleasman followed with an ace to make it 16-12. A Fidel kill and ace followed a Pioneer kill, and Point Park made it interesting with three straight points to make it 18-16. Ambrosini settled Fayette down with a kill for a moment, but the Pioneers managed three more kills over the next four points. Only a kill from Cooper gave Fayette a 20-19 lead. Ambrosini's back row attack notched a kill before the teams alternated the next three points. Another Ambrosini kill made it 23-21, and following an error and a kill from Point Park, Fidel put the set away with a kill as Fayette survived 25-22.

Point Park would impose its will, and height advantage, in sets three and four. The Pioneers grabbed a 7-2 lead early in the third set, as Fayette could only get within two points at any point in time. Two Fidel kills and an Ambrosini kill gave the Roaring Lions a two-point deficit at 11-9, before a string of Point Park kills were alternated with Pioneer errors to make it 14-11. A Sleasman kill cut the deficit to 14-12, but the Pioneers went on an 8-0 run to effectively seal set three. Fayette's final three points came from kills by freshmen Emily Caldwell (Belle Vernon, Pa.) and Marisa Wallace (Smithfield, Pa.), and an ace from Hillen, but the Roaring Lions would fall 25-15.

Set four saw momentum swing back and forth, as the teams split the first 10 points. Fayette was led by two kills from Ambrosini and a kill from Konter, but Point Park would take the next seven points for a 12-5 advantage. Fayette cut the deficit to six following kills from Cooper and Helmantoler, but Point Park jumped out to a 16-8 lead after taking four of the next five points. Two Pioneer errors and a Sleasman kill made it 16-11, but Point Park made another four point run for a 20-11 lead. Ambrosini got Fayette back on track with two kills as Fayette took four of the next five points, but it was not enough. The Pioneers took four of the final five points, ending the set, and the match, 25-16.

The Roaring Lions return to action on Thursday, Oct. 13 at 7:00 p.m. as they host Penn State DuBois. DuBois is the last PSUAC team to beat Fayette, a 3-2 win over the Roaring Lions last season. Fayette swept DuBois 3-0 in both of the previous meetings this season.