Box Score
CALIFORNIA, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University volleyball team was unable to upset Wheeling Jesuit, the No. 2 seed in the region, losing 3-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday afternoon at California (Pa.). SRU season ends with an overall record of 20-12.
Slippery Rock, the regions seventh seed, lost the three-set match 25-13, 25-16, 25-20. Wheeling Jesuit (34-3) will play Lock Haven 5 p.m. Friday in the regional semifinals.
Freshman outside hitter
Kristy Lake led Slippery Rock with a match-high 12 kills. Junior opposite
Sarah Cadwallader and senior outside hitter
Kaylee Smith added six and three kills, respectively. Freshman setter
Janna Reilly guided the attack with 23 assists. Earlier in the day the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced its postseason awards and Reilly was named the PSAC-West Freshman of the Year while Smith earned second team All-PSAC-West recognition.
Cadwallader, Reilly, junior middle hitter
Hayley Wilson and senior middle hitter
Lisa Bakaitis all tied for the team lead with three blocks each.
As a team, Slippery Rock compiled an attack percentage of just .046 while Wheeling Jesuit hit .268 for the match.
Slippery Rock, which was making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2008, started the match with 3-1 lead thanks in part to a kill from Smith and a block from Bakaitis and Lake. However, the lead would be short lived as Wheeling Jesuit proceeded to go on a 11-2 run to take a commanding 12-5 lead that eventually turned into a 25-13 victory.
The Rock started off slow in the second set which allowed Wheeling Jesuit to open up a 7-3 lead before Slippery Rock took seven of the games next 10 points to tie the set at 10-10. The comeback was led by two kills each from Cadwallader and Lake. SRU would keep things close for the remainder of the set, but was unable to grab the lead as WJU benefitted from a 10-5 run en route to a 25-16 victory in the second set and go up 2-0 on The Rock.
Facing elimination from the NCAA Tournament, Slippery Rock was in a must-win situation in the third set. Wheeling Jesuit appeared ready to make quick work of the set when it opened up a 20-8 lead, but Slippery Rock would not quit even when it was faced with the eight-point deficit. The Rock went to work on trimming the lead with a kill from Lake, a block from the combination of Cadwallader and Wilson and finally an ace from Reilly which forced a WJU timeout with the score now 20-15.
Slippery Rock got to within four points of tying WJU at 24-20 before an attack error by SRU gave the Cardinals the match-deciding point.
The Cardinals were led by WVIAC Player of the Year Allissa Ware, who made 12 kills and two blocks. Jenna Pew added a double-double of 12 kills and 17 assists in the victory.
Thursday marked the final matches in the careers of Smith, Bakaitis, defensive specialist
Alee Kromer and outside hitter
Kristin Slavoski.
