Women’s Volleyball picks up pivotal win over La Roche

PITTSBURGH --- Carlow University women's volleyball snapped a six game losing streak with a hard-fought 3-1 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference win over La Roche University at home Tuesday night.

The Celtics (7-16, 2-5 AMCC) claimed the first two sets 25-23 and 25-21 before the RedHawks (6-15, 3-4 AMCC) won the third set, 25-19. Carlow won the match with a 25-22 fourth set victory.

Rebecca Hess (New Alexandria, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) led Carlow with a game-high, double-double 18 kills and 15 digs. Suzy Walker (Boswell, Pa./North Star HS) added 10 kills, while Kelsey Sufak (Allison Park, Pa./Deer Lakes HS) and Carrah Scardina (Natrona Heights, Pa./Highlands HS) tallied 16 and 11 digs, respectively. Paige Keller (Liberty Borough, Pa./South Allegheny HS) tallied three of Carlow's 10 blocks, and Emily Hess (Saltsburg, Pa./River Valley HS) and Sarah Porter (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway HS) combined for 43 assists.

La Roche jumped out to an 8-1 advantage in the first set, but Carlow slowly chipped away at the RedHawks' lead to tie the game, 14-all. Three kills in a row put La Roche in the lead once again until four errors in a row handed Carlow its first advantage of the set. The Celtics went ahead once again, and although La Roche kept it close, Carlow ended the set on a kill from Jurisa Shirky (Canterbury, UK/The Mount Academy) for the win.

The second set played out in a similar fashion, with both teams tying the score and taking turns with marginal leads until the very end. Ahead 24-21, Keller secured the final kill for Carlow to win the second set.

The RedHawks went ahead 12-6 in the third set and maintained their lead throughout. Carlow scored five unanswered points to trail, 19-15, but La Roche stayed out front and won the third set, 25-19.

The Celtics fell behind 7-3 in the fourth set, but the energy was high, and the momentum of a late 8-2 run gave Carlow a boost and an 18-12 lead. La Roche battled back to trail by two, but a kill from Jorja Sedlar (Brentwood, Pa./PA Leadership Charter School), two service aces in a row from Sufak and a La Roche attack error saw the Celtics at match point, 24-18. The RedHawks would not quit, scoring four more points to trail by two before Sedlar landed Carlow's final kill to end the game.

Kalli Grine had a game-high 18 kills, and Megan Bologna contributed a double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs in the effort. Kaci DePalma added a game-high 28 digs.

The Celtics open the USCAA Championship tournament with a 5 p.m. match against Paul Quinn College at Penn State Fayette Nov. 6.