Volleyball Seeded 3rd for USCAA Championships

November 3, 2011

UNIONTOWN, Pa. - The four-time reigning Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference champion Penn State Fayette women's volleyball team will kick-off the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Volleyball Championships next Thursday, Nov. 10 as they meet no. 1 seed Florida College at 11:00 a.m. in the opening round of pool play. Fayette comes in as the no. 3 overall seed in the 2011 field.

Fayette (26-6, 18-0 PSUAC) earned their highest seeding in program history for the 2011 tournament after sweeping through conference play with a perfect 16-0 mark. The Roaring Lions then ousted Pennn State Mont Alto in the conference tournament semifinals before beating Penn College to take home the tournament title, and the conference's automatic berth to the USCAA National Championships.

For the third straight season the championships will be held in Louisville, KY at the Mid-America Sports Center, where Fayette survived pool play in 2010 before dropping their quarterfinal match against the University of Dallas. Other teams in Fayette's 2011 pool include no. 5 seed Southern Virginia, no. 7 seed Lindenwood Belleville and no. 9 seed Robert Morris Springfield.

The Roaring Lions will be led to Kentucky by a pair of record-setting upperclassmen. Senior Katie Sleasman (Connellsville, Pa.), the program's all-time assists leader, and junior Leah Ambrosini (Connellsville, Pa.), the all-time kills leader, look to lead Fayette to its first national championship in school history.

Janelle Cooper (Mount Braddock, Pa.), the PSUAC's Co-Freshman of the Year, and freshman PSUAC Honorable Mention Samantha Helmantoler (Monongahela, Pa.) will look to support the other veterans on the squad as Fayette meets Robert Morris Springfield on Nov. 10 at 2:00 p.m. Fayette will finish the first day of pool play against Lindenwood Belleville at 3:30 p.m. before resuming pool play on Friday, Nov. 11 at 10:00 a.m. against Southern Virginia.

Pool 2 boasts two members of the PSUAC, as Penn College is the no. 8 seed and Penn State Mont Alto is seeded tenth. Rounding out Pool 2 are no. 2 seed Rochester College, no. 4 seed Cincinnati-Clermont and no. 6 seed Spalding, the host of the tournament. Eight of the ten teams advance beyond pool play, as the quarterfinal matches are set for 4:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11.

Fayette is 5-1 against opponents in the 2011 tournament field. The Roaring Lions' only blemish was an opening season loss to Rochester College. However, Fayette cannot meet any of these schools until pool play ends.