PITTSBURGH, Pa. – La Roche volleyball hosted a quad match on Saturday, welcoming Bethany, Carlow and Lycoming to the Kerr Fitness Center. The Redhawks would open against Carlow, taking the contest 3-0, then followed that performance with another 3-0 sweep over Lycoming.
LA ROCHE 3 CARLOW 0
Set one was as close as it comes, ending 25-23 between the AMCC combatants squaring off in non-conference play.
La Roche was cruising in the opening set, holding an 18-9 lead past the midway point.
The Celtics stormed back, scoring 13 of the next 18 points, ultimately trimming the edge to 23-22.
The teams would alternate points, with Quinn Hughes and Megan Bologna coming through with kills to end the set.
Set two was all Redhawks, cruising to a 25-15 win.
Carlow jumped ahead early in the game holding a 10-6 lead. From there, La Roche cruised, outscoring the Celtics 19-5, including a 13-0 run that opened the lead to 19-10.
Set three was like the opening set, but this time went into and extra point, ending 26-24.
Carlow once again pushed ahead, 5-1, but the Redhawks charged back, scoring 14 of 17 points when down 6-3 to take a 17-9 advantage.
The Celtics would fight back, countering with a run of 10-2, tying the set at 19-19.
La Roche threw the next punch, with five of the next seven points, bringing it to set point at 24-1, but again, Carlow buckled down to tie it at 24-24.
However, a Celtic service error and a kill by the Redhawks' Kalli Grine ended the match.
Grine led the match with 10 kills, hitting nearly .500 at .476, she was followed by Kylie Fehlman who had seven and Audrey Work with six.
Three players hit double digits in digs, including Mackenzie Kerkan's game-high 16, Bologna with 11 and Brooke Bednarkski earning her first collegiate double-double with 10 digs and a match-high 24 assists.
LA ROCHE 3 LYCOMING 0
In the second game of the day, La Roche earned yet another sweep, this time taking down Lycoming.
Set one was dominated by the Redhawks, storming ahead 16-7, before pushing that lead to set point at 24-15.
The biggest spurt by the Warriors followed, scoring four straight to move it within five at 24-19, but a service error gave La Roche the first set.
Set two saw a pair of 3-0 runs by each team to start things out, then back and forth play to the tune of a 12-12 score.
Lycoming would open it up, slightly, at 15-12 and would go up 20-19 before a Redhawk timeout.
That timeout proved beneficial for the red and black, as they would score six of the final eight points of the set to go up 2-0 behind a 25-22 victory.
The final set saw La Roche, again, charge ahead, leading 7-3, but the Warriors would fight back to make it an 8-7 game.
From that point, the Redhawks secured eight of the next nine points to open a 16-8 lead, but Lycoming countered with a 9-2 run to move back within one at 18-17.
It was the closest the Warriors would come, as La Roche sealed the sweep with seven of the final nine points to win 25-19.
This match was Fehlman's turn to lead the way, picking up ten kills, followed by Hughes and Grine with six each.
Kerkan again had a game-high with 16 digs, while Grine and Fehlman loaded up with four blocks each.
Bednarski once again had a match best 22 assists in the victory.
After a long stretch of home matches to open the season, the Redhawks take to the road for eight games over the next 23 days, beginning with St. Vincent on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m.