2008 Woodie Awards
Volleyball vanquishes Clarion
Win marks Rock's third straight shutout over PSAC teams
By David Duke
Issue date: 10/14/05 Section: Sports
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Leading the way for the Rock (22-6, 3-3) was Anastasia Urbanik with 16 kills, two aces, and six digs and Sarah Kirsch with 51 assists, 14 digs, and three blocks.
Coach Laurie Lokash was pleased overall with her team's effort in this PSAC West rivalry game.
"I think we're playing with a lot more confidence now," Lokash said. "We started slow, but gained momentum each game and took control of the match."
Game one began with Clarion (20-8, 1-5) jumping out to a 5-2 advantage before the Rock stormed back to even the score and took the lead on the next point. The two teams traded scoring streaks until Clarion again grabbed the lead 16-15. From that point, however, SRU didn't look back as it never trailed in the game and ended it fittingly on an Urbanik kill.
Lokash saw escaping this back-and-forth game as a turning point in the match.
"The first game was very sloppy and could have gone either way, so coming away with it was a huge boost for us," Locash said.
The second game began with more of the same as the Rock again started slow, but never relinquished the lead the entire game and came away with an easy 30-19 victory. Urbanik again dominated the scoring with multiple kills and blocks. Sophomore Louise Schultz also had a solid second game on the offensive end to lead the Rock.
Game three began much like game one as the Rock fell behind early 3-1 before taking the lead 4-3. SRU never lost the lead again and the match was capped off by a tap from Katie Greco which sealed the victory 30-20 in the third and final game.
Lokash saw the victory as a stepping stone for her team towards a possible playoff birth.
"We had beaten them earlier, but winning a second time around like this validates it," Lokash said. "They're not a bad team in a tough division and this win shows the first time around wasn't a fluke."
Last weekend the Rock traveled east to face PSAC-East foes in cross over matches coming away with an undefeated 3-0 record only losing one game combined.
SRU began the weekend knocking off West Chester 3-1 (30-15, 30-21, 28-30, 30-22). Urbanik again led the Rock with 21 kills and seven digs while Kirsch added 58 assists on offense and 20 digs on defense.
The Rock finished off its perfect weekend with easy victories over East Stroudsburg 3-0 (30-22, 30-19, 30-12) and Shippensburg 3-0 (30-25, 31-29, 30-15). Leading the way again on offense was Urbanik with 28 kills and Schultz with 25. Senior Lindsay Weber led the way on defense with 34 combined digs.
The win puts the Rock in sole possession of third place in the PSAC West and in control of their own destiny for the playoffs. SRU's next home match potentially could determine the final playoff spot when the Rock faces rival IUP at 7:00 p.m. in Morrow Field House.
