University of Delaware Athletics
Chelsea Lawrence Attacks and Defends the Net to Lead Delaware Volleyball Past Penn, 3-0
9/24/2011 7:58:00 PM | Volleyball
PHILADELPHIA - - Behind twelve kills each from Chelsea Lawrence and Alissa Alker, the University of Delaware volleyball team completed its non-conference schedule with a 3-0 sweep over the University of Pennsylvania at The Palestra on Saturday afternoon.
Lawrence tied a career high while leading the Blue Hens (7-10, 0-1 CAA) at the net both offensively and defensively. The junior hit .455 on the afternoon on 22 swings, committing only 2 errors. She also tied a team high with five block assists.
Penn (4-7) was the final team on the Blue Hens' schedule that made it to the 2010 NCAA Tournament, marking the sixth team the Blue and Gold faced from that bracket this year.
Alker hit .294, finishing with 12 kills while adding seven digs. Kim Stewart had a team high 16 digs while Renee Tomko contributed 37 assists to up her season average to 10.40 helpers per set.
Delaware led for a bulk of the first game before the Quakers made a late set comeback. With a lead as large as five at 18-13, the home squad scored six of the next eight points to cut it to within one. Following a kill by Stewart put the Hens up 23-21, Penn came back with two straight points to finally tie the set. But Lawrence put down a kill and Cara Rosehill served up an ace to end the game in favor of the Blue Hens.
Penn scored the first three points of game two, but the Hens would battle back to take the lead for good on a kill from Lawrence, 7-6. A block from Lawrence and Stewart gave Delaware its largest lead of the second set at 21-13 before an Alker kill settled the score at 25-19.
The Blue Hens again grabbed the early lead in the third set before having to fend off a pesky Quaker team. A 6-0 run early in the game put the score at 6-2, while another four point swing put the lead at 13-5 for the Hens, forcing Penn to use a timeout.
After the break, a kill by Karina Evans stretched the lead to eight at 16-8 before the Quakers made their move. Scoring seven of the next eight points, Penn got back into the set and eventually tied the game at 22 with a block from Taylor Smith and Lauren Martin. They again tied it at 23-23 with a kill from Martin, but the Blue Hens found their mettle and tallied the next two points to take the set, and the match, 25-23.
Kristen Etterbeek led the Quakers with 11 kill; the only Penn player with double figures. Kristin Schoonover and Hilary Ash ran the offense, passing out 13 and 21 assists, respectively. Three players led the back row as Dani Shepherd, Emma White, and Etterbeek each recorded more than 10 digs.
Delaware will return to Colonial Athletic Association action, and will remain in conference play for the rest of the season, on Friday, September 30 with a weekend on the road. The team will travel to Northeastern on Friday for a 7 p.m. start and play at Hofstra on Sunday starting at 1 p.m.
AGATE:
Delaware def Penn, 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-23)
Delaware (kills-assists-digs): Hank (10-0-5); Tomko (0-37-11); Stewart (7-016); Alker (12-1-7); Lawrence (12-0-4); Evans (4-0-3); Rosehille (0-2-13); Reigel (0-0-8).
Penn: Connolly (0-1-0); Etterbeek (11-0-11); Stuecheli (5-0-1); White (9-0-19); Pacheco (9-0-4); Cobbinah (1-0-4); Shepherd (0-2-19); Schoonover (0-13-2); Johnson (0-1-3); Smith (0-0-0); Davis (0-0-0); Martin (6-0-0); Ash (0-21-8).
Total Team Blocks: Delaware 10, Penn 5
