Slippery Rock women’s volleyball team fell in a pair of home games, the last ones of the season, to the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (Nov. 7) and Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Nov. 8).
For seniors Jaeden Yost, Arielle Walter, Callie Chevalier and Lauren VonderHaar, it would be their last time playing in Morrow Field House.
Knowing there was no chance for a postseason play, SRU still gave it all they had.
“We came in with, ‘Hey, let’s challenge them. Let’s make some upsets in the conference,’” head coach Dylan Lasher said.
Game one
The Rock lost their senior night in four sets to UPJ on Friday.
Pitt-Johnstown opened the first set with three points, but Slippery Rock retaliated with four of their own.
From there, the points volleyed between leads. UPJ took it 8-6, and The Rock came back with five points, jumping ahead 11-9.
The Mountain Cats scored six consecutive points to edge out Slippery Rock.
While the White and Green never did reclaim the lead, they stayed close behind, tying up the scoring every chance they got. A total of eight kills, three attack errors, and a bad set in the remainder of the first set just were not enough.
UPJ ended the set with a kill and an attack error.
Set two was much the same with each team taking turns in the lead. Slippery Rock opened the scoring thanks to a bad set, but the Mountain Cats quickly recovered with two kills to put them in the lead.
SRU had the lead 7-5 before UPJ took over with five consecutive points.
The Rock stayed close behind with pairs of kills and attack errors. They took a single-point lead, 14-13.
Chevalier led the charge, tallying 19 kills that game, putting up a new career high and adding to her total of 281.
The Cats jumped back in front by two points, and Slippery Rock could not recover. The second set ended 25-21.
The White and Green opened set three with a kill by Victoria Nalbach.
After some back-and-forth, SRU took the lead 9-5 behind three kills and an attack error.
The points continued to sway to both sides. Pitt-Johnstown delivered five consecutive points to tie the score at 14. Pairs of kills, attack errors, and a service ace solidified the lead for The Rock.
This time, the Cats were breathing down SRU’s neck, only staying a few points behind. They managed to tie it to 23, but three kills from the White and Green gave them set three.
UPJ opened the fourth set on an attack error. The Rock moved ahead after kills from Hayden Deming and VonderHarr, but that was the last time they saw the lead.
Three points coming from the Cats put them in the lead 4-3, and they kept it.
SRU continued to apply pressure, not making it easy for them, but their efforts came up short.
Despite the scoreboard, Lasher is enjoying the growth he’s seeing with his team.
“The communication is coming together. The maturity in the athletes is coming up,” he said. “I’m excited to see what the team has set for the future.”
Game Two
Slippery Rock took on IUP for their last home game of the season.
Kills from Nalbach and Gwen McCarthy opened set one in favor of The Rock.
The Crimson Hawks quickly found their groove, turning it around with nine points. IUP only gave up one point in between when VonderHaar broke up the run with a kill.
The senior ranks first in SRU history for blocks. In her collegiate career so far, she has tallied 123 solo blocks and 255 assisted blocks.
While the White and Green did not regain the lead, they were not far behind.
The end of the set came on with points volleying between the teams, but the Hawks edged out The Rock 25-21.
Set two opened the same way, with SRU putting up two points and IUP putting up five.
Emry Rumbaugh broke the scoring drought for The Rock with a kill.
The freshman has clocked 167 kills so far.
SRU managed to find the lead one more time in the second set after Chevalier delivered a kill and a service ace.
IUP retaliated with four kills of their own, making the score 15-12.
Five kills, three attack errors and a service ace closed out the set for the White and Green. It was not enough in comparison to the Crimson Hawks’ five kills, three service and attack errors, and two service aces.
The set closed in favor of IUP with the same score as the first.
This time, the Hawks opened the third set with a service ace. Slippery Rock got the chance to retaliate behind two kills.
The Rock kept the lead for the first half of the third set, but IUP stayed close behind.
Three back-to-back kills gave the Crimson Hawks the boost they needed to jump back in front. That time was short-lived after points were given to SRU after service and handling errors on IUP’s side.
After alternating some points and fighting for the lead again, Slippery Rock had it 20-19.
IUP dominated the final part of the set behind five kills and a service ace, ending it 25-22.
While the season is not over yet, Coach Lasher highlighted some main things he wants to focus on for next year.
“[Getting] bigger, fast, stronger, and team chemistry,” he said. “I think we’re in a good place. I think we can be in an even better place.”
Slippery Rock women’s volleyball will close the regular season with a pair of road matches this weekend against Gannon University and Edinboro University.
