Lehigh Times

The Cedar Crest College volleyball team moved into sole possession of second place in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) with a 3-0 sweep of Cairn University on Wednesday night at the Mason Activity Center.

The Falcons won the match by set scores of 25-17, 25-23, and 25-19.

With the opening set tied at 4-4, Cedar Crest strung together five straight points to jump out in front, 9-4. The margin grew to as many as 11 after a kill by first-year Ellise Everett (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona ) made the score 21-10. The Highlanders used a late 4-0 run to cut the lead to six, 22-16, but the Falcons captured three of the last four points to take the set by a 25-17 score.

The squads traded the first 24 points of the second set before either team could grab the advantage. After a Cedar Crest attack error, the Falcons tallied three straight points to snag the 15-13 lead. Cedar Crest maintained the three-point gap to make the score 18-15 following a kill from sophomore Alexis Cummins (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge). Separate 3-0 runs by both teams pushed the score to 21-18. Cairn pulled to within two points on two separate occasions, but a kill by senior Aliyah Rhoden (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) gave the Falcons the 25-23 second set victory.

The beginning stages of the third set were tight as the teams traded the first 24 points yet again. A kill by Everett sparked a 6-0 Cedar Crest run to send the score to 17-12. The Highlanders fought back and cut the deficit to three two different times, but with the Falcons up 22-19, Cedar Crest tallied three straight points to take the set, 25-19.

Junior Maddison Minyo (Covington, Pa./North Penn-Mansfield) led the Falcons with a double-double of 16 kills and 16 assists. She also added two blocks. Cummins chipped in a double-double, tallying 11 kills and 18 digs. Everett concluded the match with 10 kills and three total blocks. Junior Ava Grapsy (Macungie, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) registered a match-high 40 assists and pitched in 16 digs. Classmate Rebekka Sanchez-Castro (Columbia, Md./Atholton) paced the Cedar Crest defense with 22 digs.

Sophomore Caroline Conrad (Bangkok, Thailand) finished with a double-double of 11 kills and 15 assists to guide Cairn. Junior Olivia Zepp (Westminster, Md.) recorded 28 assists while senior Lizzy Fay (Langhorne, Pa.) finished with 18 digs.

Cedar Crest (8-8 overall, 5-1 CSAC) travels to Wilson College on Friday, October 21 for a 6:00 p.m. first serve. Cairn (14-4 overall, 4-2 CSAC) hosts Lancaster Bible College for its next match on Thursday, October 20 at 7:00 p.m.

Original source can be found here.