Brandywine Splits Two Matches In Washington D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Penn State Brandywine volleyball team split a Saturday tri-match in Washington D.C., dropping a 3-0 (9-25, 7-25, 7-25) United East Conference decision to Gallaudet before sweeping Trinity Washington 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-16).

Match One: Gallaudet 3, Penn State Brandywine 0

Defending United East champion Gallaudet handed Brandywine a straight-set loss to begin the day.

Anna Ramirez (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) and Emma O'Reilly (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) both recorded three kills and three digs. Laura Jezyk (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) tallied four assists and Hailey Piccirillo (Broadlands, Va./Virginia Academy) notched a pair of blocks.

Match Two: Penn State Brandywine 3, Trinity Washington 0

Brandywine bounced back to win the second match of the afternoon, earning a 3-0 sweep of Trinity Washington.

Brandywine built an early 8-2 edge during the opening set. After Trinity answered with four-straight points, the Lions countered with an 11-3 run, capped by a kill from Ramirez, to expand the margin to double figures. Sophie Scrivo's (Chester, Conn./Valley Regional) kill later handed the set to the Lions by a 25-14 count.

Trailing 10-7 in the second frame, Morgan Rizer (Denton, Md./North Caroline) and Shannon Phillips (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) each recorded a kill and Aaliyna Patel (Bowie, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) added consecutive kills as Brandywine jumped in front. The Lions scored nine of the next 10 points overall to take control of the set.

Piccirillo recorded three-straight aces and tacked on a kill to complete a 6-0 Brandywine run that gave the Lions a 6-5 edge during the final frame. Brandywine pulled away, using an 11-4 surge, fueled by three kills from O'Reilly, to complete the three-set sweep.

Piccirillo paced the Lions with eight kills, while Rizer tallied seven and O'Reilly and Ramirez both chipped in six. Piccirillo also matched Jezyk for the team lead in aces with four. Jezyk added 16 assists and Scrivo collected 10 helpers.

Britney Howell (Newark, Del./Delcastle Tech) produced a team-leading eight digs. Jezyk and Ramirez both registered five digs, while Rizer tallied two blocks.

Brandywine (3-13, 0-3 United East) is on the road again Wednesday when the Lions visit Penn College at 6:00 PM.