BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The University of Scranton volleyball team (12-7, 7-0 Landmark) notched an eighth straight win with a 3-0 sweep of the Moravian Greyhounds (9-11, 2-3 Landmark) on Saturday night at Johnston Hall in Bethlehem.
Scranton 3, Moravian 0 (25-8, 25-5, 25-23)
After the two sides split the first four points of the match, consecutive kills by sophomore Deanna Whelpley (Congers, N.Y./Immaculate Heart Academy) ignited a 14-point run for the Royals that resulted in a 16-2 lead. The run also included four kills by sophomore Gwen Koester (Merrick, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) and Scranton then took eight of the final nine points in the set as a kill by junior Sophia Hadjiyane (Huntington, N.Y./John Glenn) closed out the 25-8 victory.
Head coach Jamie Spangler's team was also dominant for much of the second set and led 11-3 following a kill by Koester. From there, the Royals ripped off 13 straight points and 14 of the final 15 in the set to take a two-set lead when junior Erin Keaveney (Collegeville, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) delivered a kill to seal the 25-5 win.
Moravian raced out to an early lead in the third set by taking the first eight points and 10 of the first 12. However, the Royals were able to fight back and cut the lead to 18-17 with three straight points including a kill by Koester. Koester also came through later in the set to even things at 21 apiece and Hadjiyane closed out the 25-23 victory with a kill.
Scranton featured a balanced attack offensively with seven or more kills from five different players led by Koester's career-high 11, eight from Keaveney and seven apiece from Whelpley, sophomore Katherine Denitz (Lansdale, Pa./Gwynedd Mercy Academy) and senior Stephanie Margolies (Westfield, N.J./Westfield).
Junior Gianna Detorie (Rumford, R.I./Bishop Feehan) and freshman Cammi Quirk (Oakland, N.J./Ridgewood) recorded 20 assists apiece to help set up the attack and sophomore Maddie Forry (Reading, Pa./Exeter Township) led the way defensively with 16 digs.
Forry also added four assists and six service aces in the victory.
The Royals will host Lycoming on Friday night at the John Long Center in Scranton with first serve slated for 7 p.m.
--ROYALS--
