Lady Roaring Lions Volleyball

October 1, 2010

The Roaring Lions women's volleyball team completed a brutal stretch of six matches in seven days at the Bethany College Tri-Match on Tuesday, September 28, beating Chatham University 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-23) before falling to Bethany (16-25, 9-25, 13-25). The seven day stretch included three NCAA Division III opponents and one NAIA member, and saw Fayette secure their first ever win over a NCAA Division III opponent, while bringing their record to 7-8 overall, 5-2 in PSUAC play.

A balanced attack led to the victory over Chatham, a NCAA Division III member, as sophomore Leah Ambrosini notched a team-high 13 kills.  Freshmen Caitlin Fidel and Marney Hillen tallied eight and seven kills, respectively, and junior Alex Rossi added six. Freshmen Alaina Weiss contributed five kills as junior setter Katie Sleasman totaled 36 assists in the match.

While balance continued against Bethany, it was not enough to overcome the Bison.  Ambrosini again led the way with six kills, while Hillen and Fidel added four and three, respectively.  Sleasman contributed 15 assists in the loss.

The stretch began at home with a loss against NCAA Division III opponent La Roche College 3-1 (18-25, 25-21, 21-25, 20-25) on September 22. The Roaring Lions led in every set before relinquishing the lead near the 15 point mark.

The Roaring Lions then hosted NAIA member Point Park University on September 23, falling 3-2 (7-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20, 13-15).  The match saw the return of Sleasman, a two-time USCAA Honorable Mention setter, as she had sat out the beginning of the season.  Sleasman made a big difference for the Roaring Lions, tallying 34 assists to help erase the early two-set deficit, although it was not enough to match Point Park in the deciding fifth set. Ambrosini again led the team in kills with 15, while Hillen added a career-high 12. Fidel was again strong on both offense and defense, contributing four blocks while adding eight kills.

A weekend road-trip began September 25, as the Roaring Lions dispatched host Penn State New Kensington 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-9).  Ambrosini tallied a team-high 14 kills, while Sleasman notched 17 assists.  Fidel added five blocks as the freshmen added to her team-high season total.

The Roaring Lions then fell to Penn State DuBois 3-2 (22-25, 23-25, 26-24, 25-10, 15-17) on September 26. Ambrosini totaled 23 kills in the five sets, while Fidel contributed 11 kills with Hillen adding 10. Sleasman had 28 assists, but it was not enough as the Roaring Lions slipped to 5-2 in conference play.

The Roaring Lions host Penn State Greater Allegheny on Wednesday, September 29 at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Center Main Arena before traveling to Penn State Beaver on October 2 and the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg on October 3.