No. 3 Roaring Lions Look for 4th Straight Title

October 19, 2011

UNIONTOWN, Pa. - The no. 3 Penn State Fayette Roaring Lions women's volleyball team will compete for its fourth straight Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference Tournament championship this weekend after winning the regular season title. The no. 1 seed Roaring Lions (24-4, 16-0 PSUAC) earned a first round bye in the PSUAC Tournament, and will play no. 5 seed Penn State Mont Alto in the semifinals on Friday, Oct. 21 at 8:30 p.m. at Rec Hall on the Penn State University Park campus. It will be the fourth straight season the two meet in the PSUAC Tournament.

Mont Alto knocked off no. 4 seed Penn State Brandywine, 3-1, on Tuesday night to secure their spot in the semifinals.

Fayette brings a 28-match winning streak in conference play into Friday's showdown, including three wins in the 2010 conference tournament. The Roaring Lions defeated Mont Alto, 3-1, on Sept. 25 at Fayette as part of the streak.

The Roaring Lions and Lady Lions have a memorable recent history in tournament play, meeting in the finals of each of the last three PSUAC Tournaments. Fayette has walked away victorious in each, but not without their share of problems from Mont Alto. The Lady Lions have handed Fayette one of their three conference losses over the past four seasons, a 3-1 win in 2010 as Mont Alto road a perfect regular season to the championship match. Fayette avenged that loss with a 3-1 win in the tournament finals.

The Roaring Lions have also won three of the last four regular season championships, including a perfect 16-0 record this season to capture the PSUAC. During the unprecedented run, Fayette holds a 69-3 conference record, including the playoffs.

The Roaring Lions are led by a pair of recent record-setters in senior Katie Sleasman (Connellsville, Pa.) and junior Leah Ambrosini (Connellsville, Pa.). Sleasman is the program's all-time assists leader, while Ambrosini owns the kills record.

Helping achieve Fayette's second perfect regular season in three years have been sophomores Caitlin Fidel (Perryopolis, Pa.), Marney Hillen (Connellsville, Pa.), Victoria Kearns (Uniontown, Pa.), and Alaina Weiss (Monongahela, Pa.). A talented group of freshmen has played a vital role in the Roaring Lions' successes as well, including Emily Caldwell (Belle Vernon, Pa.), Janelle Cooper (Mount Braddock, Pa.), Samantha Helmantoler (Monongahela, Pa.), Emily Konter (Brownsville, Pa.), Katlyn Salisbury (Madison, Pa.), Abbey Tirpak (California, Pa.) and Marisa Wallace (Smithfield, Pa.).

The Fayette/Mont Alto winner will play the winner of no. 2 seed Penn College and no. 3 seed Penn State Wilkes-Barre, who defeated no. 6 seed Penn State Beaver on Tuesday. Penn, who also received a first round bye, and Wilkes-Barre will play the first semifinal match at 7:00 p.m. in Rec Hall. The championship match is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22 in Rec Hall.