ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Cedar Crest College volleyball team cruised past the University of Valley Forge in a 3-0 sweep in a United East Conference match on Wednesday night inside Lees Gymnasium.

The Falcons captured the match by set scores of 25-9, 25-14, 25-13.

Cedar Crest got out to an early 7-2 advantage in the first set and pushed the margin to eight, 13-5, following a kill from senior Akashia Johnson (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic Institute). The Patriots scored three consecutive points to trim the margin to five (13-8) but the Falcons finished the frame on a 12-1 run to win the opening set, 25-9.

Cedar Crest jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the second stanza after a 4-0 run finished off by a Valley Forge attack error. The Patriots climbed back to within four, but the Falcons rattled off a 9-1 run to increase the score to 19-7. The visitors cut the deficit to nine, 20-11, and then Cedar Crest outscored Valley Forge 5-3 over the remainder of the set for the 25-14 second-set victory.

The third set was tight in the early going as the teams split the first 20 points, 10-10. The Falcons then embarked on an 11-0 run to extend the lead to 11, 21-10. Back-to-back points for the Patriots made the score 21-12 and then Cedar Crest closed on a 4-1 run to take the set, 25-13, and the match in straight sets.

Junior Ellise Everett (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona) tallied a match-high 11 kills to go along with three service aces, one assist, one block, and one dig. Everett notched her 500^th career kill in the match. Graduate student Ziah Melton (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) followed with seven kills, and eight digs. Graduate student Rebekka Sanchez-Castro (Columbia, Md./Atholton) registered four kills, one assist, four service aces, one block, and five digs. Johnson recorded four kills, one assist, and one dig. Sophomore Maiya Piccarreta (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone Area) had one kill, one assist, one service ace, and five digs. Sophomore Tianlly Davila (Frederick, Md./Governor Thomas Johnson) pitched in one kill, 23 assists, eight service aces, and four digs. Senior Daja Jackson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Gilbert (Ariz.)) registered a pair of service aces and four digs.

Senior Rhena Lauver (Kingston, Pa.) collected a team-high eight kills for the University of Valley Forge.

Cedar Crest (9-13 overall, 4-3 United East) will return to the court when they face Notre Dame of Maryland University in a road match on Saturday, October 26 at 1:00 p.m. The University of Valley Forge (2-15 overall, 0-7 United East) next hosts Wilson College on Friday, October 25 at 5:00 p.m.