WAYNE, N.J. – The Cedar Crest College volleyball team came away with wins over William Paterson University and Rutgers-Newark in a tri-match on Saturday afternoon.

The Falcons opened the day with a 3-1 victory over the Pioneers and closed with a thrilling 3-2 win over the Scarlet Raiders.

Match One – Cedar Crest 3, William Paterson 1 (25-10, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21)

Sophomore Ava Grapsy (Macungie, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) recorded a match-high 17 kills to lead Cedar Crest past William Paterson. Grapsy also paced the Falcons with 20 assists and added a match-high 31 digs.

Senior Dakota Apicella (Kendall Park, N.J.) and junior Leila Kslyer (Bogota, N.J.) paced the Pioneers with 16 kills apiece. Senior Kristin Volavka (Milford, Pa.) led the way with 36 assists while junior Kathleen Borrough (North Burlington, N.J.) and Apicella contributed 21 digs each.

Cedar Crest took the opening set in convincing fashion, 25-10. The Pioneers responded in the second with a 25-22 victory to even the match at a one set apiece.

The Falcons answered back to take the final two sets, 25-20 and 25-21, to capture the match in four sets.

Match Two – Cedar Crest 3, Rutgers-Newark 2 (19-25, 25-12, 24-26, 25-20, 15-9)

Cedar Crest hit .258 in a pivotal fourth set to knot the match at 2-2, before taking the fifth set, 15-9, en-route to a five-set victory over Rutgers-Newark to sweep the tri-match.

The Falcons committed just two errors in the fourth set to shift the momentum of the match. Grapsy contributed 16 kills, 17 digs, 12 assists, three service aces, and two blocks, while hitting .308. Junior Kelsee Schouppe (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) chipped in 12 kills and three blocks. Senior Talia Watson (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton) pitched in a team-high 21 assists and five service aces.  

Graduate student Tiffany Hoppes (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) was a key anchor in the Cedar Crest defense with 16 digs. Freshman Alexis Cummins (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) outside hitter had a solid performance of nine kills, seven digs, three assists, and one service ace. Sophomore Rebekka Sanchez-Castro (Laurel, Md./Atholton) also provided solid defense, pitching in 12 digs.

Cedar Crest (3-0 overall) will stay on the road and will travel to Muhlenberg College for a quad-match next weekend. Friday, September 10 has two matches slated, the first being against the host Mules at 3:00 p.m. before facing Gallaudet University at 5:00 p.m. 

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