ALLENTOWN, Pa. – After dropping the opening set, the Cedar Crest College volleyball team rallied for a 3-1 triumph over Keystone College in a United East Conference-Skye Division match on Saturday morning at Lees Gymnasium.

The Giants won the first set 25-22, but the Falcons responded by winning the next three sets by scores of 25-15, 25-20, and 25-22.

The teams split the first 40 points of the opening stanza (20-20). An attack error by the Giants made it 21-20 in favor of Cedar Crest, but Keystone closed on a 5-1 run to capture the first set, 25-22.

The Falcons won the next stanza 25-15 to even the match at a set apiece.

Cedar Crest began the third set on a 10-2 run, capped off by a kill by junior Alexis Cummins (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge). Later in the frame with the Falcons up seven, 13-6, Keystone would embark on a 6-0 run to pull to within one, 13-12. The remainder of the set stayed tight, but the Falcons would never give up the lead and finished the stanza on a 4-1 run to grab a 2-1 advantage with the 25-20 set win.

Cedar Crest took home the match with a 25-22 fourth-set victory. The Falcons built an eight-point advantage, 19-11, after a service ace by Cummins, but the Giants would storm back with a 9-2 spurt to pull within one, 21-20. Keystone tied the frame at 22 after a kill from sophomore Rebecca Jackson (Quakertown, Pa.), but Cedar Crest scored three points in a row to take the set and the match.

Sophomore Ellise Everett (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona) led the Falcons with 14 kills to go along with three service aces, and two blocks. Senior Ava Grapsy (Macungie, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) tallied 10 kills, 13 assists, and eight digs. Senior Maddison Minyo (Covington, Pa./North Penn-Mansfield) added seven kills, two assists, and three digs. First-year Nikki Blair (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) finished with a double-double of 23 assists and 11 digs while senior Rebekka Sanchez-Castro (Columbia, Md./Atholton) had a team-high 20 digs in the win.

Cedar Crest (7-8 overall, 2-0 United East Conference-Skye Division) welcomes in the University of Valley Forge for its next match on Wednesday, October 11 at 7:00 p.m. Keystone (7-8 overall, 1-1 United East Conference-Skye Division) will return home to face Rosemont College on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

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