SCRANTON, Pa. – Sophomore Cammi Quirk (Oakland, N.J./Ridgewood) earned Tournament MVP honors and The University of Scranton volleyball team (3-0) completed a perfect weekend at the Scranton Invite with victories over Coast Guard (1-2) and SUNY New Paltz (0-3) on Saturday at the John Long Center.
The Royals notched a 3-0 victory over Coast Guard to begin the day and then closed out the weekend with a 3-1 win against New Paltz.
Quirk was named to the All-Tournament Team along with junior Camryn Hoffman (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) and senior Maddie Orth (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth). On the weekend, Quirk tallied three kills, 60 assists, two service aces and four digs.
Scranton 3, Coast Guard 0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-18)
Scranton raced out to an early 9-3 lead in the first set before Coast Guard fought back and eventually tied things at 19 apiece following consecutive points. Following three straight points for the Royals that made it 22-19, the Bears once again answered to knot the score at 24 before senior Erin Keaveney (Collegeville, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) slammed home consecutive kills for the 26-24 victory.
Coast Guard held a 17-12 lead in the second set when a kill from junior Deanna Whelpley (Congers, N.Y./Immaculate Heart Academy) marked the start of a stretch where Scranton took six of seven points that created an 18-all deadlock. The visitors held a slight 23-22 edge, but the Royals were able to capture the final three points and Orth closed things out with a kill.
In the third set, the Royals led 15-12 when Keaveney delivered a kill to ignite a seven-point run that extended the advantage to 22-12. From there, the Bears were unable to get any closer than six and a kill by senior Sophia Hadjiyane (Huntington, N.Y./John Glenn) finished off the sweep.
Keaveney and Whelpley had 10 kills apiece to lead the way offensively, while Quirk helped facilitate the attack with 17 assists.
Junior Maddie Forry (Reading, Pa./Exeter Township) added a team-high 13 digs and Whelpley notched her first double-double of the young season with 11 digs of her own.
Scranton 3, New Paltz 1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-14, 25-22)
New Paltz held a 9-8 edge in the first set when a service error marked the beginning of six straight points for Scranton and a 14-9 lead. The Hawks were unable to get any closer than four through the remainder of the set and freshman Danielle Kramer (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood) delivered a kill to seal the 25-17 victory.
The two teams traded points for much of the second set and the score was tied on six different occasions including at 17-17, 18-18 and 19-19 before New Paltz registered six of the final seven points in the 25-20 win.
A service error from the Hawks' Letisha Perez gave Scranton a 7-6 lead in the third set and the hosts then recorded eight of the next 10 points to make it a 14-8 advantage. After a New Paltz point cut the lead to 14-9, the Royals notched eight straight and rolled to the eventual 25-14 victory.
Head coach Jamie Spangler's team led 16-12 in the fourth set, but the Hawks would not go quietly and eventually tied the set at 17 apiece. Keaveney helped seal the perfect weekend for the Royals with three kills in the final eight points.
Whelpley recorded 12 kills in the match and freshman Kassidy Means (Bath, Pa./Wilson West Lawn) added nine of her own to go along with 25 assists from Quirk.
Hoffmann posted 18 digs and two service aces for Scranton.
The Royals return to action on Friday night against Marietta on the campus of Carnegie Mellon with first serve slated for 7:30 p.m.
--ROYALS--
