Ambrosini, Sleasman Highlight Historic Night

October 13, 2011

UNIONTOWN, Pa. - The third-ranked Penn State Fayette women's volleyball team continued its historic stretch, winning its 26th straight conference match on Thursday night.

In front of a "Tailgating" crowd, the Roaring Lions (22-4, 14-0 PSUAC) defeated Penn State DuBois in straight sets, 3-0 (25-11, 25-13, 25-5) to clinch one of the top two seeds in the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference Tournament. With their magic number down to one and owning a tiebreaker over Penn College, a win in one of their final two remaining conference games would clinch the number one seed.

Before the match, the Roaring Lions honored two of their most decorated upperclassmen, as senior setter Katie Sleasman (Connellsville, Pa.) and junior outside hitter Leah Ambrosini (Connellsville, Pa.) were recognized for their recent achievements. Ambrosini set the school's all-time kills record on Saturday, Oct. 8 against Penn State Hazleton, while Sleasman added her name to the history books a day later as the all-time assists leader against Penn State Scranton.

Fayette notched 38 kills to DuBois' five, and tallied 12 service aces. The Roaring Lions hit at a .485 clip, while holding the Lady Lions to a -.209 percentage.

Sleasman led the way for Fayette with 18 assists, three aces and six digs, while sophomore Caitlin Fidel (Perryopolis, Pa.) and freshmen Janelle Cooper (Mount Braddock, Pa.) and Samantha Helmantoler (Monongahela, Pa.) each added six kills. Freshman Katlyn Salisbury (Madison, Pa.) had five kills and Ambrosini added four for the balanced Roaring Lions' attack. Freshman Emily Konter (Brownsville, Pa.) added nine assists.

The Roaring Lions jumped out to an early 6-2 advantage in set one, as Cooper set the tone with two kills in the first three points. Following three DuBois errors and a kill, Fidel made it 6-2 with a putdown. Fayette extended their lead to 9-3 with an ace from Konter and another Fidel kill, but DuBois took four of the next six points to make it 11-7. Fayette would put a quick stop to the DuBois rally, going on a 10-0 run that included by two kills from Cooper, an Ambrosini kill and block, a kill and ace from Sleasman and a kill from Helmantoler to make it 21-7. Two Fayette errors ended the run, but Helmantoler responded with a kill before two more DuBois points. Fidel would end the set with 2.5 of the three final points, notching two kills and an assisted block with Helmantoler to end set one, 25-11.

DuBois bounced back with a strong effort early in set two, taking a 7-3 lead. Fayette managed kills from Konter, freshman Emily Caldwell (Belle Vernon, Pa.) and Salisbury in the early stages. Fayette answered with a 5-0 run, including two kills from Salisbury to give Fayette its first lead of the set at 8-7. DuBois took a 9-8 lead after two Fayette errors, but Salisbury tied the set with a kill and followed a Lady Lions error with an ace to make it 11-9. Following a Fayette error, the Roaring Lions pulled away with a 6-0 run with two kills from sophomore Alaina Weiss (Monongahela, Pa.) and two aces from freshman Marisa Wallace (Smithfield, Pa.). Fayette would grab eight of the final 10 points as Ambrosini added a kill to her career total and Weiss added an ace to her. Wallace ended set two with a kill, as Fayette won, 25-13.

Fayette continued their game of runs to start set three, quickly compiling a 6-0 lead. Sophomore Marney Hillen garnered an ace and Konter a kill for Fayette before DuBois would get on the board. Another 4-0 run gave Fayette an 11-1 lead, as Ambrosini and Cooper added aces and Sleasman notched two aces. After closing the gap to 11-4, DuBois once again could not stop a Fayette run. This time the Roaring Lions took eight straight points, including three kills from Helmantoler and kills each by Fidel and Hillen. After a DuBois point, Fayette rallied again for the final six points as Fidel notched her final kill of the evening, and Helmantoler capped the night with an ace, leading Fayette to a 25-5 victory in set three.

The Roaring Lions continue their conference slate with two weekend road contests, first traveling to Penn State Beaver on Saturday, Oct. 15 before heading to Penn State New Kensington on Sunday, Oct. 16. With a likely bye looming in the first round of the PSUAC Playoffs, the Roaring Lions would not play again until Friday, Oct. 21 at Rec Hall on the University Park campus. Check back for more information on the Roaring Lions playoff schedule on Monday.