MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - Having faced and defeated Penn State Harrisburg in quad-match play earlier this fall, Wesley must have had an inkling of the kind of fight the Lions were capable of putting up in the teams' 2013 Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) opener on Wednesday night, Oct. 2. But there's no way the Wolverines could have known the kind of fight the Blue & White would put up before falling 3-1 in front of a lively crowd at the Capital Union Building. The ladies fell to the visitors 25-21 twice before winning the third set 25-22 and falling by the slimmest of margins 25-23 in the deciding set.
Penn State Harrisburg got off to a very slow start in the opener and fell behind Wesley 8-0. In the end, that sluggish beginning proved the difference in the set as the Lions refused to roll over and drew within two points of the Wolverines on five separate occasions. It was even worse the second time around as the ladies found themselves down 14-2 midway through the next set before storming back and using two strong serve periods from sophomore Katie Shek (Old Bridge, N.J. / Old Bridge) and some solid defensive stands to draw within one point at 21-20. Once again, however, the Blue & White was unable to crawl out of the early hole.
Things started differently in the third set with the Lions jumping out to a 5-1 advantage. Wesley scored five straight points and Penn State Harrisburg Head Coach Bob Creason burned a timeout. Settled down after the break, the ladies got a strong service period from sophomore Megan Sheaffer (Palmyra, Pa. / Palmyra Area) and ran their lead to 16-11. From there, the set remained close. This time, however, the Lions were able to close it out strong and emerge with their first win of the match.
The home team got off to another slow start in set number four and faced an early 7-2 deficit. This time the ladies got things rolling during junior Erin Goodyear's (Boiling Springs, Pa. / Boiling Springs) service period and drew to within one point. The Lions weren't done there as they took their first lead of the set at 9-8 and stretched their advantage to 21-17. The Wolverines used a late timeout to regroup and responded while trailing 23-21, scoring the set's last four points following the break to pull out the squeaker and escape the CUB victorious.
Goodyear had a tremendous night defensively and dug out a career-high and game-best 33 balls; the second-highest single game total in school-history. The libero also added three assists. Shek pitched in with ten digs while team captains Elizabeth Findley (New Providence, Pa. / Solanco) and Jessica Farabaugh (Palmyra, Pa. / Palmyra Area) added eight apiece.
Senior Chidere Igwe (West Orange, N.J. / West Orange) and sophomore Kiara Carter (Bronx, N.Y. / Milton Hershey) led the way offensively with eight kills each. They also played well at the net defensively, recording three solo blocks apiece. Freshman Marion Chlipala (Cape Coral, Fla. / Oasis Charter) chipped in with seven kills while Sheaffer and sophomore Olivia Umoren (Quincy, Mass. / North Quincy) added five apiece.
Shek and Findley, the team's setters, combined to assist on 27 points, with Shek making 15 assists and Findley adding 12. Shek recorded one of the team's three service aces while Sheaffer connected on the other two.
As would be expected in each teams' conference opener, the match was hotly contested throughout. Wesley racked up 156 total attempts and 43 kills compared to the Lions' 135 and 34. The Wolverines dug out 94 balls while Penn State Harrisburg made 75 digs. Both teams recorded 30 assists.
The narrow defeat dropped the Blue & White to 4-13 on the year and 0-1 in CAC play. The Lions will look to build on one of the squad's most impressive outings of the season when they travel to St. Mary's (Md.) this weekend. The ladies will take part in tri-match play on Saturday, Oct. 5, facing off first against the host Seahawks and finishing off their afternoon by taking on Virginia Wesleyan.