WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The East Stroudsburg women's volleyball team outlasted West Chester in a five-set thriller Saturday afternoon, powered by career best performances from
Allison Birtcil and
Anna Coulter. Set scores were 25-22, 27-29, 28-30, 25-21, and 15-8.
ESU improved to 21-5 overall and 11-1 in conference play, while West Chester fell to 19-7 overall and 7-5 in the PSAC.
The Warriors extended their win streak to nine matches are now 4-0 in five set matches.
Notables
Both Birtcil and Coulter notched career highs with 22 kills apiece, each hitting an impressive .364. Coulter added six blocks, one service ace, and totaled 26.5 points, while Birtcil contributed two blocks and finished with 23.5 points.
Kyra Bishop recorded a career high of 53 assists to bring her season total to 496.
Marta Leeland had a career high of six service aces to push her season total to 41.
How it happened
Set 1: The opening set began with both teams trading points before East Stroudsburg pulled ahead, 8–5. WCU answered with a 5-1 run to get in front, 10-9. The Warriors tied it up at 17 off an attack error and pushed their lead to 19-17 off kills from Bishop and Birtcil. The Golden Rams used a block to tie the score at 21 each. Consecutive kills from Coulter and one from Bishop put the Warriors in set point position, 24-21. Coulter's kill sealed the first set for the Warriors, 25-22.
Set 2: The Warriors opened the second set with a huge 11-point run highlighted by kills from Birtcil and Coulter and two service aces from Leeland. The Golden Rams put five on the board to trim the deficit, however a kill from Crites and a block from her and Berry put the Warriors ahead by 11 points, 16-5. The Golden Rams surged ahead with a four point run that was broken up with a Coulter kill. West Chester picked right back up with a seven point run to pull within one, 21-20. The teams traded points down the stretch, but WCU completed the comeback to take the second set, 27–25.
Set 3: The Warriors opened the third set with a three point run before West Chester got ahead at 9-6. The Golden Rams remained in front until a 6-1 run from ESU tied the score at 23. A block from Coulter and Bishop gave ESU a brief lead at 25–24, but a service error evened the score once more. WCU then used consecutive kills to go up 27–26. Bishop's block and a kill from Crites brought the score to 28–28, but the Golden Rams closed out the set, 30–28, on a kill and a Warrior attack error.
Set 4: In the fourth set, each team went on short runs before trading points and tying the score at 13. ESU used a five point run to jump ahead, 18-13. West Chester cut the deficit to two points, however the Warriors used a kill from Birtcil and two WCU errors to take the fourth set, 25-21.
Set 5: In the final set, the teams traded points early before three consecutive kills from Coulter gave ESU a 6–2 cushion. A block from Bishop and a kill by Crites extended the lead to six. West Chester rallied with three straight points to pull within 12–8, but ESU closed it out with a Birtcil kill and a block from Coulter to secure the five-set victory.
Up Next
The Warriors return home against Shippensburg for senior day on Friday, November 14.
