Reading, PA - In a tri-match at Alvernia on Saturday, Cedar Crest was left holding the bag, losing their opening match against Penn State Berks by a score of 3-0 as well as their match against the Crusaders by a slim 3-2 final.
The Falcons, playing short-handed, were sluggish right out of the gate and lost the first match in straight sets. They never led in the opening set and allowed runs of seven and eight points by the Nittany Lions en route to a 25-14 loss. In the second set, Cedar Crest settled down and led by as many as six at 20-14 before allowing the Lions to close with an 11-3 run for a 25-23 victory. The third set was all Penn State as the Lions started strong and ended strong, downing the Falcons 25-12. Sophomore Amber Wehry (Klingerstown, PA/Tri-Valley Jr/Sr) led Cedar Crest in kills with eight to go with 15 digs. Freshman Nikole Johnson (Ashley, PA/Holy Redeemer) led all players in digs with 16, and freshman Debra Lobien (Lehighton, PA/Lehighton) had 22 assists and 13 digs.
The second match was much closer and provided a truer example of the type of play of which Cedar Crest is capable. The Falcons won the evenly-played first set, 25-22 and were leading in the second set before sophomore middle blocker Kamala Meena Sutton (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) went down with an injury. That seemed to be a big loss, as Cedar Crest then went on to lose that set, 25-23, and the third, 25-16. It was gut check time in the fourth set, as the Falcons were down two sets to one, but despite being down 19-14 the Falcons rallied to record a 25-23 victory. Things remained evenly-matched going into the deciding match, but decide a late 12-10 lead Cedar Crest allowed the Crusaders to close on a 5-0 run to steal the win. In the final analysis, the Falcons lost by a total of nine points over five sets. Wehry continued to shine, again leading Cedar Crest in kills with 17 and leading all players in digs with 35. Johnson had 20 digs and four aces along with nine kills. Kiersten Collins (Forest City, PA/Forest City Regional) and Jessica Lobien (Lehighton, PA/Lehighton) each had 10 kills, and Lobien and sister Debra each had 15 digs. Debra also had 34 assists.
The Falcons drop to 8-15 overall and remain 2-7 in the Colonial States Athletic Conference. Penn State Berks improves to 20-5 overall, and Alvernia improves to 8-11. In their next action, Cedar Crest will host CSAC opponent Keystone College on Tuesday, October 25th, at 7:00 PM.
Penn State Berks Box Score
Alvernia Box Score
Season Stats
