WHEELING, W. Va. - The Slippery Rock volleyball team concluded its time at the Atlantic Region crossover Saturday with a three-set loss to host Wheeling and a four-set setback against Fairmont State.
SRU played its opposition tight for the duration of the two matches before losing to Wheeling 25-20, 25-18, 25-17 and Fairmont State 25-19,25-22,18-25,25-18.
Slippery Rock exits its third weekend of the 2022 season with an overall record of 3-8 overall while Wheeling and Fairmont State improve to 4-6 and 12-1, respectively, following their wins.
Over the two matches,
Chelsie Wheeler totaled 12 kills on a .296 attack percentage and nine blocks (one solo / eight assisted) while
Erica Selfridge had a team-high 15 kills to go with two aces.
Alayna Chizmar was The Rock's third athlete to record double digit kills on the day with 13.
WHEELING 3 – SLIPPERY ROCK 0
Set Scores: 25-20, 25-18, 25-17
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• Selfridge shouldered the offensive load with a team-high nine kills on a .222 attack percentage to go with one ace as well as eight digs.
•
Abigail Nigon (5),
Abigail Koeller (4), Wheeler (4), Chizmar (3) and
Mary Berger (2) all had multiple kills as well.
• Berger posted a career-high six blocks with Nigon close behind with five rejections of her own. Wheelr and Chizmar also chipped in two blocks apiece.
•
Kate Lachendro made a team-high 22 digs while
Jaeden Yost distributed 15 assists. Both Yost and Lachendro served one ace apiece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Slippery Rock led for much of the early stages of the first set, but with SRU clinging to a 13-12 advantage the Cardinals took six consecutive points to take a lead it would never relinquish en route to a 25-20 victory.
While The Rock never led in the second set, they played the hosts tight throughout the game before Wheeling captured four straight points to register a 25-18 victory.
The Cardinals put the third set away quickly courtesy of an 8-0 run to open what would be the final set of the match. To its credit, Slippery Rock battled back from the sizable margin to cut Wheeling's lead to as little as two points on three separate occasions, but ultimately couldn't quite overcome the early deficit as Wheeling clinched the match with a 25-17 third-set win.
FAIRMONT STATE 3 – SLIPPERY ROCK 1
Set Scores: 25-19, 25-22, 18-25, 25-18
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• Chizmar led The Rock's attack in the nightcap, securing 10 kills.
• Wheeler had a great all-around match with eight kills on a .400 attack percentage to go with five blocks.
•
Stephanie O'Donnell came off the bench to produce career-high matching nine blocks (one solo / eight assisted) as well as four kills.
• Selfridge and Koeller chipped in six and five kills, respectively, as well with Koeller, Yost and Lachendro also serving two aces apiece to round out The Rock's attack.
• Yost also passed out 20 assists while Lachendro tallied 21 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The opening set between The Rock and Falcons was a back-and-forth contest for the near entirety of the set. However, a 7-4 run by FSU midway through the set pushed its lead out to a 23-18 and forced a SRU timeout. The break did not slow Fairmont State's efforts down as it took two of the set's final three points for a 25-19 win.
The second set was another close affair. With the scored tied at 18-18, Slippery Rock and Fairmont State traded 2-0 runs to push the score to 20-20 before FSU was able to end the set on a 5-2 run to pull out a three-point victory.
After trailing by as many as five points early in the third set, Slippery Rock methodically began to chip away at the Fairmont State lead, eventually tying the contest at 12-12. The two teams proceeded to trade points resulting in another 16-16 tie. The rest of the set belonged to The Rock as SRU rattled off nine of the next 11 points to force a fourth set with a 25-18 victory in the third.
However, Slippery Rock's comeback hopes were dashed in the fourth set as Fairmont State darted out to a 17-7 lead before withstanding a late seven-point SRU run to earn a 25-18 match-deciding win.
UP NEXT
For the first time this season, Slippery Rock will host a match at Morrow Field House when it meets Indiana (Pa.) 7 p.m. Sept. 13 for a PSAC contest on "Green Out" night. Fans are encouraged to wear green. There will be a serving contest free of charge for the chance to win various prizes.
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