ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Cedar Crest College volleyball team stayed perfect at home at home with a 3-0 sweep of the University of Valley Forge in a United East Conference-Skye Division match Wednesday night at Lees Gymnasium.

The Falcons won by set scores of 25-7, 25-10, and 25-5.

After the Patriots went ahead 2-1 in the opening set, Cedar Crest rattled off an 18-0 run behind strong serving from senior Maddison Minyo (Covington, Pa./North Penn-Mansfield) to grab a commanding 19-2 advantage. Following a Valley Forge point to stop the run, the Falcons scored five straight points to stretch the margin to 21, 24-3. The Patriots answered back with a string of four consecutive points, but Cedar Crest finished the set with a kill by Minyo, which made the score 25-7.

The Falcons jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the second stanza, highlighted by a 4-0 run. Cedar Crest maintained a healthy lead throughout the set, pushing the margin to 10, 16-6, following another kill by Minyo. The Patriots came back with three straight points to cut the margin to seven, 16-9, but the Falcons closed on a 9-1 run to win the frame, 25-10.

After the teams traded the first two points of the third set, Cedar Crest embarked on a 11-1 run to increase the score to 12-1. Valley Forge cut the deficit to 10, 13-3, after a kill by junior Telia Robinson (Stuttgart, Germany). The Falcons answered back with a 11-0 spurt to stretch the score to 24-3 following a kill from first-year Natalie Brown (Hoschton, Ga./Gainesville). The Patriots registered back-to-back points and then a service error gave Cedar Crest the set, 25-5, and the match in straight sets.

Senior Ava Grapsy (Macungie, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) paced the Falcons with eight kills, 10 assists, and chipped in four digs. Minyo added four kills, six service aces, and five digs. Sophomore Ellise Everett (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona) recorded four kills. Senior Rebekka Sanchez-Castro (Columbia, Md./Atholton) had a match-high 16 digs while classmate Daja Jackson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Gilbert (Ariz.)) finished with a match-high seven service aces.

Cedar Crest (8-8 overall, 3-0 United East Conference-Skye Division) begins a two-match road trip at Wilson College on Saturday, October 14 at 2:00 p.m. The University of Valley Forge (2-14 overall, 0-3 United East Conference-Skye Division) returns home for a conference match against Cairn University on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.