FAIRBANKS, Alaska - The Slippery Rock University volleyball team closed its time at the Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic Saturday with a four-set (27-25, 25-19, 24-26, 25-11) victory over Felician University.
 
The Rock's win improves their record to 5-3 on the year while Felician drops to 2-6. Saturday's victory was true team effort for The Rock as virtually every player to take the floor made significant contributions.
 
Leading the way for SRU was the three-pronged offensive attack of Callie Chevalier, Chelsie Wheeler and Erica Selfridge.
 
Chevalier recorded a match-best 18 kills, one off her career-high, followed by Wheeler with 14 and Selfridge with 13 in addition to 16 digs for what was her fourth double-double performance of the season. The trio combined for the impressive 45 kills on an efficient .300 attack percentage.
 
Setters Jaeden Yost and Paityn Krause turned in double-doubles as well with Yost's coming by way of 25 assists and 16 digs and Krause's being of the 17-assist, 14-dig variety. The duo served one ace apiece as well.
 
The Rock's stout defense was on full display against Felician, highlighted by an eight-block night from Victoria Nalbach. She was one of six SRU athletes with multiple block assists alongside Wheeler (4), Chevalier (3), Selfridge (2), Lauren VonderHaar (5) and Kaitlyn Danszczak (4).  
 
Kara Pasquale and Kate Lachendro-Biery tied for team-high honors in aces with two each. Lachendro-Biery also made a Rock-best 20 digs. 
 
As a team, Slippery Rock held advantages over Felician in kills (58-51), attack percentage (.246-.134) and total blocks (13-5). 
 
Neither SRU nor Felician led by more than two points through early stages of the first set, but with the score tied at 12-12 Slippery Rock managed to separate itself with a 6-1 spurt to give itself an edge it held onto for the remainder of the set in an eventual 27-25 triumph.
 
Slippery Rock led wire-to-wire in the second set that featured a late run in which SRU accounted for six of the final eight points in a 25-19 win.
 
While Felician avoided the sweep via a 26-24 win in the third set, Slippery Rock promptly rebounded by delivering one of its most complete sets of the year in the fourth. SRU held a .593 attack percentage in the deciding set while forcing five Felician attack errors en route to a 25-11 match-clinching win. 
 
Megan Barker tallied 17 kills to lead Felician in the loss. 
 
Slippery Rock returns to the contiguous United States to play at the MEC-PSAC Crossover Sept. 20-21 against West Liberty, West Virginia State, Wheeling and Fairmont State.





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