Lebanon Valley 3, Westminster College (Pa.) 2
 
How It Happened
RADNOR, Pa. - Lebanon Valley is moving on to to the semifinals of the 2018 ECAC DIII Volleyball Championship Tournament after defeating Westminster College (Pa.) in a grueling five set match this evening (25-12, 18-25, 25-13, 19-25, 16-14). With the win, the Dutchmen continue their season and improve their record to 19-12, while the Titans' season ended at 30-4.
 
LVC came out strong to open up the first set. The Dutchmen went on two important runs creating an early separation from the Titans making the score 7-1. Westminster kept the fight alive, however, and came within three points, but it wasn't enough. Lebanon Valley stayed strong from the service line as both Jayna Class and Jess Attieh went on a five-point streak closing out the first set 25-12.
 
The second set was more of an even match-up and what you would expect to see in the quarterfinals of the ECAC Championships. Westminster started off on a run and LVC had four errors, followed by two Westminster kills, which gave the Titans a 6-0 lead. Lebanon Valley called a timeout and the energy seemed to have shifted the other way. The Dutchmen followed back with a six-point run and Class back behind the service line, tying up the score at sixes. The rest of the set was back-and-forth until LVC gave up two aces and a ball handling error, which gave the Titans a five-point separation. The Dutchmen couldn't recover and Westminster took the second set 25-18.
 
The third set was another blow out for LVC.  The Dutchmen took a quick lead and the Titans couldn't find the inside of the court. Westminster had eight kills and eight errors on 45 attempts. The Titans hit zero as a team in the third set and the Dutchmen stayed resilient behind the service line and continued to accrue point runs. With LVC making minimal mistakes, the Dutchmen took the third set 25-13.
 
The fourth set was very similar to the second with Westminster starting off with a strong lead. This time it was due to four kills and only one ball handling error coming from LVC. This gave the Titans a five-point gap. Westminster went on to create a few more point-runs that the Dutchmen couldn't come back from and the Titans took the fourth set 25-19 to force a fifth and deciding set.
 
LVC took and early lead coming from Titan attack errors in the fifth. Westminster, however, closed the gap and surpassed it by going on a four-point run with Mackenzie Garris behind the line. LVC took a timeout, which proved to be a good strategy and the Dutchmen regained the lead 10-8. Both teams battled back and forth and were tied at 13. The Dutchmen had match point with an attach error from the Westminster's Delaney Saxton, but the Titans battled to make it a 14-14 tie. A kill by Attieh gave LVC match point again, and the Dutchmen then won the game on an attack error from the Titan to take the fifth set 16-14 for the 3-2 match-victory.
 
Inside The Numbers
- Attieh led both teams with 21 kills. Saxton was right behind her with 13 kills on 43 attempts.
- MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the Year, Reily Shelly, and Class had double doubles. Shelly had 12 kills and 16 digs, while Class had 11 kills and 18 digs.
- Jensen Burnheimer led both teams with 48 assists.
- The Titans hit zero as a team on all three sets lost.
- The Titan's Rachel Moore led both teams with 41 digs, and LVC's Kaitlyn Reed was right behind her with 39.
 
Semifinals Here They Come
LVC takes on McDaniel College tomorrow at 2 p.m. in the semifinal round of the 2018 ECAC DIII Volleyball Championships. The hosts, Cabrini, battle NYU in the other semifinal matchup at 11 a.m. The championship is set for tomorrow at 5 p.m.
 
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