FAIRMONT, W. Va. - The Slippery Rock University volleyball team ushered in the 2025 season Friday by splitting two matches at the Fairmont State Classic.
 
The Rock (1-1) swept Elizabeth City State University (0-2) in their first match of the year (26-24, 25-18, 25-21) for what was head coach Dylan Lasher's inaugural win on the SRU sidelines before falling in five sets (15-25, 25-17, 24-26, 25-13, 15-12) to UVa.-Wise (1-1) in the nightcap.
 
Callie Chevalier began her senior season by giving SRU a pair of quality performances. Over the two matches she totaled 31 kills on a .225 attack percentage with 25 digs and three blocks. Chevalier's great two-match run pushed her career kill total to 676, good enough to move up four spots in The Rock's record book to 21st all-time.
 
The trio of Marley Annis (15), Kaitlyn Danszczak (13) and Emry Rumbaugh (12) all collected double-digit kill totals over the two matches with Annis also serving a Rock-best five aces on the day.
 
Setters Jaeden Yost and Paityn Krause had near identical stat lines. Yost's senior season started with 39 assists, 14 digs and three aces in the two matches. Meanwhile Krause went for 36 assists, 13 digs and two aces.
 
Defensively, libero Kara Pasquale made 37 digs while Slippery Rock's front-line efforts were spearheaded by Addison Jones and Lauren VonderHaar. Jones posted 10 blocks (one solo / nine assisted) and VonderHaar tallied six rejections (0 solo / six assisted).
 
VonderHaar's six-block day at the FSU Classic moved her past Heidi Slatcoff (1998-01) and into ninth place in program history for blocks in a career with 264.

THE ROCK 3 - ECSU 0
Set Scores: 26-24, 25-18, 25-21
 
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• The Rock captured their 11th season-opening win in the last 12 years courtesy of a balanced offensive attack that saw five athletes tally at least five kills apiece and a defensive effort which stymied Elizabeth City State all match.
 
• SRU held advantages over the Vikings in kills (44-36), attack percentage (.200-.144), aces (6-2), digs (47-46) and total blocks (10-4).
 
• Chevalier paced The Rock's efforts with a 12-kill, 11-dig, three-block, one-ace performance.
 
• Annis doubled her previous career-high with 10 kills in addition to serving a team-best three aces, tallying three blocks and just missing out on a double-double of her own with nine digs.
 
• Rounding out The Rock's top offensive performers were Danszczak (7 kills), VonderHaar (6 kills) and Ava Haynes (five kills). VonderHaar and Haynes chipped in three blocks apiece as well.
 
• Playing in her first collegiate match, Jones was huge up front for The Rock with seven rejections (one solo / six assisted).
 
• Pasquale matched Chevalier for team-high honors in digs with 11 of her own.
 
• The Rock's setter tandem of Yost and Krause guided the offense with 22 and 15 assists, respectively. The duo also supplied SRU with one ace each.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
ECSU played its way to a six-point, 17-11, advantage over Slippery Rock in the opening set only for the Green and White to go on a methodical 11-5 rally which pulled the contest into a 22-22 tie.
 
The Rock and Vikings proceeded to trade points leading to another tie at 24-24 before a Chevalier kill followed by a Jones and Chevalier combo block gave SRU the 26-24 win in the opener.
 
Slippery Rock captured seven of the first 10 points to start the second set and never looked back en route to the eventual 25-18 win. While Elizabeth City State drew to within three points on several occasions following the early Rock run, SRU maintained a comfortable lead and staved off all comeback bids thanks in no small part to an efficient .243 attack percentage in the set.
 
The third, and what turned out to be the deciding, set was a back-and-forth affair for its duration with neither team leading by more than four points. The difference came late when The Rock rattled off a defining 7-3 run to secure the 25-21 victory.
 
Annis and VonderHaar were the catalysts in the final run. In addition to combining for a block, Annis served two aces over the stretch while VonderHaar had two kills. Overall, the third set was Annis' best of the night as she tallied five kills, three aces and two blocks in the clincher.

CAVALIERS 3 - THE ROCK 2
Set Scores: 15-25, 25-17, 24-26, 25-13, 15-12
 
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• Chevalier continued a strong start to her senior season with a career-high matching 19 kills on a stellar .292 attack percentage. Her offensive output coincided with 14 digs for another double-double.
 
• Also setting a career-high was Pasquale, who made a personal-best 26 digs in her second match as The Rock's primary libero.
 
• Rumbaugh, a freshman, shined in what was her collegiate debut. She posted 12 kills by way of a .300 attack percentage offensively while tallying two blocks on defense.
 
• Danszczak supplemented Chevalier and Rumbaugh on the attack with six kills all the while pacing The Rock with four blocks (one solo / three assisted). VonderHaar and Jones nearly matched Danszczak's block total with three apiece.
 
• Annis chipped in five kills and two aces and the setting duo of Krause (21 assists) and Yost (17 assists) set up 38 of SRU's 50 kills with Yost also serving a pair of aces.
 
• The Cavaliers concluded the match holding advantages over The Rock in kills (63-50), attack percentage (.197-.117), total blocks (14-8) and digs (71-70). Both teams served five aces.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Slippery Rock came out hot to open the match with a convincing 25-15 victory in the first set. Not only did The Rock compile a .314 attack percentage, but they also forced the Cavaliers to hit just .056.
 
Chevalier was virtually flawless in the opening set with six kills to spur on a victory in which The Rock did not trail after an early 2-1 deficit.
 
Following a 25-17 loss in the second set, Slippery Rock faced a seemingly dire situation in the third set as the Cavaliers carved out a 24-22 lead.
 
Undeterred, SRU fired off four consecutive points to take the set and re-gain control of the match. The clutch run was started by a Danszczak kill before Chevalier again took control of the match with three consecutive kills to cap off the comeback and push The Rock one set closer to the match victory.  
 
However, the Cavaliers snapped The Rock's hopes of a perfect day by taking the final two sets 25-13, 15-12 for a tight five-set win.

UP NEXT
Slippery Rock concludes its time at the FSU Classic with two matches Saturday starting with Palm Beach Atlantic University at 2 p.m. followed by a 6 p.m. showdown with host Fairmont State University.




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