CRESSON, Pa. – La Roche volleyball took part in its second tri-match this week, meeting Penn State Harrisburg and Waynesburg on a neutral court at Mt. Aloysius. The Redhawks would come out victorious in both matchups, defeating the Lions 3-1 and the Yellow Jackets 3-2.
LA ROCHE 3 PENN STATE HARRISBURG 1
Set one was a battle, but in the end, La Roche would pull through with a 25-21 victory
The Redhawks opened the set up 3-1, but quickly fell behind, 7-4.
After creeping back within a point at 9-8, the red and black used a 7-0 run to open a 15-9 edge.
The lead diminished over the next nine points, as the Lions scored seven of those nine to make it 17-16.
The teams would alternate a pair of points each, but La Roche was able to reopen a 23-19 lead in route to sealing the opening set win.
Set two saw the Redhawks open up ahead 6-3, but a 6-1 spurt by Harrisburg opened a 9-7 lead for the opposition.
La Roche countered, taking nine of the next 11 points to open a five-point, 16-11 lead.
The Lions were right back in it, tying the set at 17-17 with a 6-1 run, but the red and black sparked to score eight of the final nine points to win 25-18 and go up 2-0 in the match.
Set three was all Harrisburg to start, going up 7-2, but the Redhawks fought back to even it at 10-10.
After trading points, a 5-1 run reopened a 16-12 Lion lead, one that would never go less than two as Harrisburg forced a fourth set with a 25-18 win.
Set four opened up 4-1 in favor of the red and black, but quickly became a 5-5 score.
From that point, La Roche secured six of the next seven points, opening a five-point lead.
The Redhawks kept rolling, eventually moving the 11-6 edge to 20-12 and despite six of seven points following for the Lions to make it 21-18, the red and black took the final four points to take the set 25-18 and the match.
Kalli Grine and Audrey Work led the offense with 10 kills each, with Work hitting .643 in the game and Grine swinging a .526 percentage. Kylie Fehlman chipped in with eight kills.
Three players hit double figures in digs, with Mackenzie Kerkan having 12, Brooke Bednarski with 11 and Quinn Hughes with 10.
Bednarski earned yet another double-double on the season as she added 24 assists with her 11 digs.
LA ROCHE 3 WAYNESBURG 2
In the second game of the day, it was a five set battle going deep in points every set.
La Roche stormed ahead to open the match, opening an 11-4 lead through the first 15 points.
With a 13-7 lead, the red and black saw the lead slip away, allowing Waynesburg to score eight of the next points, falling behind 15-14.
Alternating multiple points each, the Redhawks regained a slight edge at 19-18, but a 6-0 Yellow Jacket run ensued, leading to a 25-21 opening set victory for the opposition.
Set two was same, yet the complete opposite of set one, as Waynesburg charged ahead 11-3 in the early stages.
Despite the big, early deficit, La Roche countered with a 12-2 run and took a 15-13 lead.
The next three points gave the lead back to the Yellow Jackets, but another quality run of 6-1 opened a 21-17 lead for the red and black.
Waynesburg managed to cut the deficit down to one at two separate points down the final stretch, but the Redhawks pulled out the 25-22 victory to even the match at 1-1.
The third set was incredibly even, as neither team, at any point of the set, held a lead greater than three points.
It was La Roche who held those three-point edges, doing so at 13-10 and 14-11, as well as the final score of 25-22 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The third set saw eight lead changes throughout the 47 points scored between the two sides.
The fourth set took some extra time, but it was the Yellow Jackets prevailing to force a deciding fifth set, 27-25.
Even early, the Redhawks trailed 8-7, but used a 3-0 run to open a two-point lead.
A few points later, tied 12-12, the red and black looked to be putting a stamp on the match, using a 6-0 run to open an 18-12 lead.
Waynesburg had other plans, countering with 10 straight points to take a 22-18 lead of its own.
La Roche never backed down, pushing the issue with six of the next eight points to even the score at 24-24 to force extra points.
After alternating points to sit at 25-25, the Yellow Jackets got a pair of kills to win the set and force a fifth and final set.
The final set saw the teams split the first 10 points in route to a 5-5 tie early.
The Redhawks then took command, scoring five of the next six points, with the help of three attack errors and a set error by Waynesburg to lead 10-6
Despite a pair of points by the Yellow Jackets to cut it to 10-8, another 4-1 run gave La Roche set point and sealed the match with a 15-11 deciding set win.
This match was Kylie Fehlman's turn to lead the way offensively, picking up 14 kills, hitting .417% throughout the game. Grine followed with another double-digit kill effort of 12, while Hughes added eight and Work chipped in seven.
Kerkan led the team with 21 digs, while Bednarski reeled in 15 and Megan Bologna ended the match with 13.
Bednarski eanred her second double-double of the day, picking up 29 assists to go with her 15 digs.
After a pair of tri-matches, the Redhawks get a much needed break, as they close out not only non-conference play, but an eight game road trip on Monday, Oct. 7 when they travel to Penn State Beaver. Opening serve is slated for 7 p.m.