DETROIT, MI. – The East Stroudsburg University volleyball team opened their 2021 season on Friday by dropping a pair of four set matches to West Liberty (25-19, 16-25, 12-25, 18-25) and Walsh (15-25, 27-29, 23-25, 15-20) at the first day of the Wayne State Warrior Invitational.
The Warriors open the year at 0-2 while Walsh moves to 2-0 and West Liberty goes to 1-0.
Notables
- Ball State transfer Ali Finch led the Warriors with a team-high 22 kills to pair with 24 assists and 15 digs across the two matches.
- Freshman setter Makaela McComas handed out 25 assists to go along with 12 digs while sophomore Kaylee LoPresto chipped in 19 kills.
- In the first match, ESU recorded just one service ace compared to nine service errors while West Liberty had nine service aces and errors a piece.
How it Happened – Match One
- The Warriors got out a 13-7 lead in the first set, but West Liberty fought back to make the score 13-11. A 10-5 run helped ESU regain a seven point advantage before West Liberty rattled off four straight to make the score 23-19. After a timeout by the Warriors, they scored the next two points to close out the set and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
- The second set was tight early on before West Liberty went on an 8-1 run to take a 16-8 lead. The teams traded points over the next few rallies before Hilltoppers gained a 21-14 advantage, forcing the Warriors to call a time out. West Liberty would ultimately go on to win the set 25-16 to even the match at 1-1.
- After the Warriors jumped out to a 4-3 advantage in the third set, West Liberty rattled off a 12-3 run to take a 15-7 lead. The Hilltoppers would then close out the frame on a 10-5 run to take third set, 25-12.
- Early in the fourth set, the score was tied a 3-3 before the Hilltoppers went on a 11-4 scoring streak to take a 14-7 lead, which forced the Warriors to take a timeout. Following the stoppage, the ESU and West Liberty traded points before the Hilltoppers ultimately won the set 25-18 to win the match 3-1.
How it Happened – Match Two
- Walsh raced out to a 15-4 lead, which included a 6-0 run, before the Warriors were able to trim the score to 17-10. The teams traded points before the Cavaliers would go on to score five of the final seven points to take the set, 25-15.
- In a tightly contested second set, the Warriors and Cavaliers were separated by no more than three points as Walsh eventually pulled ahead 21-18. ESU would respond with a 3-0 run to even the score before the teams traded rallies past the 25 point mark. With the contest tied at 27-27, Walsh rattled off two straight kills to win the set, 29-27.
- With the third set tied at 8-8, the Warriors would score eight of the next 10 points, which included a 4-0 run to take a 15-10 lead. The Cavaliers responded with their own 7-3 scoring run to cut ESU's advantage to 18-17. The teams traded points the rest of the way, but the Warriors would hold on to win the set, 25-23, to make the match 2-1 in favor of Walsh.
- After falling behind 6-0, the Warriors scored five of the next six points to cut Walsh's lead to 7-5. The Cavaliers followed that up with a 6-2 run to regain a six point edge, 13-7. Following the teams splitting several rallies, Walsh rattled off eight straight points to build a 22-9 advantage. ESU would go on to score six more points but that wasn't enough as the Calivers held on for the 25-15 set victory to win the match 3-1.
Up Next
ESU is back in action tomorrow at Wayne State's Warrior Invitational with matches at 9:00 a.m. against Daemen and at 1:30 p.m. against the Warriors.
