Women’s Volleyball falls to No. 1-seed Paul Quinn to open USCAA Championship

LEMONT FURNACE, Pa. --- Carlow University women's volleyball lost a 3-0 match to No. 1-ranked Paul Quinn (Texas) College in the opening round of the USCAA National Championship Tournament Thursday evening at Penn State Fayette.

The Celtics (7-17) did not afford the Tigers (18-13) an easy win and had them on the ropes several times throughout the match. In another otherwise evenly matched game on the box score, the Tigers hit more efficiently (.218 to Carlow's .150) and recorded 14 blocks on the night.

Rebecca Hess (New Alexandria, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) led Carlow with a game-high, double-double 15 kills and 16 digs. Kelsey Sufak (Allison Park, Pa./Deer Lakes HS) and Carrah Scardina (Natrona Heights, Pa./Highlands HS) added 12 and 10 digs, respectively.

Both teams took marginal leads and tied the game several times in the first set. A kill from Emily Talarico (Leechburg, Pa./Leechburg Area HS) put Carlow up 15-13, but the next kill from the Tigers set off a 5-0 run to give them an 18-15 advantage. A Carlow service error catalyzed a 6-0 run that put Paul Quinn up 24-16, but the Tigers would not close the game easily, committing three errors in a row before winning the first set, 25-19.

Paul Quinn went ahead 7-3 to start the second set, as the Celtics battled back to tie the score at 10-all. Each team strung together marginal runs, and a kill from Jurisa Shirky (Canterbury, UK/The Mount Academy) saw Carlow trailing by one, 16-15. The Celtics kept it close before four unanswered points put the Tigers up, 24-19. Suzy Walker (Boswell, Pa./North Star HS) landed a kill to keep the momentum going, but Paul Quinn got the final say with a kill of its own to end the second set, 25-20.

Carlow held an advantage to begin the final set, but Paul Quinn quickly regained the lead and went ahead, 15-12. The Celtics put together a 7-2 run to go up, 19-17, before the Tigers scored four points in a row to take a 22-20 lead. Back-to-back kills from Hess tied the score 22-all, and although momentum was moving in Carlow's direction, the Tigers scored the final three points to win, 25-22.

Carrie Weston led Paul Quinn with 12 kills, and Ashely Sanchez contributed 14 digs.

The Celtics face No. 3 seed Bay Path (Mass.) University in an elimination game at 2:30 p.m. today.