Boxscore
PHILADELPHIA – The Goldey-Beacom College volleyball team avenged an earlier loss this season to its Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference rival Chestnut Hill, as the Lightning used a complete team effort to defeat the host Griffins, 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-18) on Thurs. night.
This marked the Lightning's first conference win of the season (1-10 CACC) as they improved to 6-13 overall and avenged a 3-1 loss to CHC at the Jones Center back on Sept. 16. Chestnut Hill fell to 4-18 overall and 1-10 in league play.
Sophomore Monica Dempsey led the Lightning with her first triple-double of the season and the fourth of her career. She had 13 kills, 22 assists and 19 digs, all team-highs for the night. Dempsey also led the team with a .355 hitting percentage (13k 2e 31ta) and two service aces.
Junior Roni Shaner, who split setting duties with Dempsey, was just two digs shy of a triple-double as well. She registered 10 kills, 19 assists and eight digs for the night. Also, junior Rebecca Stoffer had a season-high 12 kills (.310 hitting percentage) with three blocks.
Chestnut Hill built up a 19-10 lead in the first set and held off a late Lightning rally to win the first set 25-20. But after that, it was three straight Lightning wins.
The second set featured 18 ties, as no team ever lead by more than two. With the score knotted in its 18th and final tie at 23, GBC earned the final two points on a Griffin bad set and a kill by sophomore middle hitter Catherine Howard (9 kills, 4 blocks) and evened the match at 1-1.
The third set was also very highly-contested, ending in a 25-23 result as well. The Lightning began to pull away late with their largest lead of the set, 22-17, but CHC scored five of the next six points to pull within one, 23-22.
Head coach Rich Bowers then used a timeout, and his team responded with another clutch kill from Howard to go up 24-22. After a Madelynn Reis (16 kills, .387 hitting percentage), the Griffins were back within a point, but an attack error by CHC on the next point gave GBC game point and a 2-1 match lead.
The CACC south division rivals traded points early on in the fourth set, but Goldey-Beacom began to pull away after an 11-11 tie. Up 19-17, the Lightning closed out the set on a 6-1 run (25-18) and claimed the 3-1 match victory.
Up next for GBC is another CACC clash with the North Division's Post University. The match is part of Goldey-Beacom College's Homecoming weekend, and it will begin at 1 p.m. in the Joseph West Jones Center.
