Devils advance over Haverford
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Women's volleyball
(BOX SCORE: Fredonia State 3, Haverford 2)
(Union Regional official webpage)
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- Fredonia State outlasted Haverford, 3-2, Thursday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball regional tournament at Union College.
The Blue Devils (28-9), making their first-ever NCAA appearance, advanced to a 6 p.m. Friday match vs. Stevens Tech, which defeated Sage Colleges, 3-0, in Thursday's other quarterfinal. Ranked No. 25 in the nation, Stevens defeated Fredonia State, 3-0, at the Vassar Tournament on Oct. 31.
Friday's semifinal winners advance to the regional final 7 p.m. Saturday for the right to move on to the eight-team national tournament.
The Blue Devils were cruising against Haverford with 25-21 and 25-22 victories in the first two sets Thursday. The Fords (24-7), representing the Centennial Conference for the third straight year, won the next two sets by 25-18 and 25-21 scores.
With his team down 6-3 in the fifth and final set, Blue Devil head coach Geoff Braun used a time-out to settle his team. Out of the time-out, senior Amy Bertrando (Westfield) recorded a kill from senior setter Alyssa Torpy (West Henrietta/Rush-Henrietta) to begin the Blue Devil comeback.
Torpy served the next three points, including a service ace, for a 7-6 Fredonia State lead. Haverford's Kelsey Cantwell stopped the run with a kill for a 7-7 tie. The Blue Devils countered with a Torpy to sophomore Jenna Tatu (Tonawanda/Kenmore West) kill for an 8-7 lead, and Fredonia State led the rest of the way en route a 15-11 set victory. Chelsea Senn (Hamburg/Frontier), a freshman, had two kills down the stretch.
The Blue Devils were outhit, 69-63, but had one more option at the net than did the Fords. Three Blue Devils had 14 kills each -- Senn, senior Leanne Maloney (West Seneca/Mount Mercy), and sophomore Kaitlin Erdmann (Randolph) -- while Bertrando had 13. The Fords had three players in double figures, led by Rebecca Salvo (La Canada, Calif.) with 21 kills and 22 digs.
Sarah Zureck (Lancaster/St. Mary's), a freshman, was credited with 30 digs to led her team. Fellow freshman Brittany Lis (Lancaster) added 23 digs, Maloney had 15, senior Val Grell (Lancaster) 12, and Torpy 11 to go along with 56 assists and four blocks. Erdmann also had four blocks, while Senn led the Blue Devils with seven.
In the first game, the contest was tied at 18-18 but a kill by Erdmann started a 3-0 run for a 21-18 Fredonia State lead. The largest lead of the match came at 24-20 and 25-20, the final when Erdmann posted the game-ending kill.
Fredonia State jumped out to a 12-6 lead but the Fords went on a 9-3 run to tie it at 15-15. The Blue Devils took a 16-15 lead and never relinquished it.
In the third set, the teams were tied at 7-7 but the Fords took a six-point lead on a 13-7 run after a Cantwell kill. Maloney pulled the Blue Devils within four (22-18) on a kill but the Fords scored the last three for the win.
In set four, Fredonia State jumped out for a 6-0 advantage but a 10-4 run for the Fords tied the match at 10-10. The teams wee knotted at 15-15 but the Fords went on a 6-2 run for a 23-17 run before closing out a 25-21 triumph.