Brandywine Drops Hard-Fought PSUAC Title Match To Fayette

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania -- Top-seeded Penn State Fayette claimed its seventh consecutive PSUAC volleyball championship, defeating No. 2 Penn State Brandywine 3-1 (25-23, 25-22, 26-28, 25-20) in a hard-fought match at Rec Hall in University Park on Sunday afternoon.

Brandywine closed out its season with a record of 21-8 after dropping the championship match to the Roaring Lions for the second-straight year.

The Lions led the first set 20-19 before three-straight Fayette points gave the Roaring Lions the lead. Junior Kirsten Jerla (Springfield, Pa./Notre Dame) tallied an ace to tie the set at 22, but Fayette closed out the frame with three consecutive points.

The back-and-forth second set featured nine ties, but Fayette was able to hold off Brandywine by recording the final two points for a 25-23 victory and 2-0 lead. Brandywine battled back in the third set, staving off a pair of championship points. Freshman Melanie Kempf (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) and Jerla registered back-to-back kills to give the frame to the Lions.

The fourth set was tied 17-17 before Fayette took over with six-straight points. Freshman Nicole Poissant's (Aston, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) ace brought Brandywine within 23-20; however, Fayette fought off the Lions' rally to claim the match and the PSUAC crown.

Jerla led the Lions with 14 kills, while junior Nicole Costa (Lansdowne, Pa./Upper Darby) tallied 13 and Poissant added seven, along with eight assists. Junior Miranda Biondi (Newtown Square, Pa./Marple Newtown) collected 23 assists) and a team-best three aces.

Defensively, junior Kimberly Russo (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) paced Brandywine with 27 digs, while Poissant amassed 23, Biondi totaled 15 and junior Kelsi Wiest (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) recorded 16. Costa delivered three blocks.