Point Park Athletics
Kevin Taylor
PITTSBURGH — Point Park University volleyball ran its win streak to four in a row and started River States Conference play with a victory. That was thanks to Tuesday night’s 3-0 sweep of visting Ohio Valley (W.Va.) University at the Student Center Gym in Downtown Pittsburgh.
Point Park (6-3, 1-0 RSC) got out to big leads in each set and took the match, 25-13, 25-18, 25-19. Ohio Valley (0-2, 0-1 RSC) did battle back to make each of the last two sets close down the stretch, but the Pioneers had what it took to not drop a set.
The Pioneers had their middle hitters standout in the win. Jazlyn Rozier, a 6-1 senior, came up with a team-high 10 kills. Teammate Melissa Schroeder, a 6-4 junior, was dominant at the net with seven blocks and four kills. Rozier added two blocks of her own.
Point Park’s front-row players all got involved in the block. Megan Bologna had three, Madison Sima made two, and Amanda Contois chipped in one. The Pioneers had 14 block assists and two block solos (both from Schroeder) on the night. Contois finished with nine kills from the right side while Sima (5 kills) and Bologna (4 kills) combined for that many from the other pin as well.
Star Lakin led the balanced attack across the net with 16 assists. Elise Wallace came back after missing a couple matches with seven assists. Lakin also tossed in four service aces. Micaela Shevelle came up with a team-high 11 digs.
Point Park got out to an 11-2 lead in the second set to take control. There was also a 5-0 lead in the third. Ohio Valley responded both times to get back into each set. But Point Park withstood the push from the Fighting Scots each time. The only lead OVU had all night was 10-9 in the third.
Point Park continues RSC action this weekend for the first of three straight road games in conference. The Pioneers visit Rio Grande (Ohio) on Friday night, they go to WVU Tech on Saturday and then hit Ohio Christian next Tuesday, Sept. 21. The next home match is Sept. 24 versus IU East.