Brandywine Tops York 3-1 On Senior Night

MEDIA, Pa. -- The Penn State Brandywine volleyball team sent its senior class out with a victory as the Lions topped Penn State York 3-1 on Senior Night to close out the 2019 regular season Tuesday.

Brandywine, which finished 11-1 in the Penn State University Athletic Conference, will be the No. 2 seed from the East Division and host No. 3 Penn State Lehigh Valley Thursday night in a quarterfinal match. The Lions will meet Lehigh Valley for a second-straight year in the quarterfinals having swept the postseason match 3-0 in 2018.

Brandywine and York split the first two sets with the visitors taking the opener 25-16, while the Lions evened the match at 1-1 by claiming set No. 2 by the same margin.

The teams were tied 9-9 during the third set before Brandywine pulled away, using an 8-2 spurt to build a 17-11 edge. A kill by Brandi James (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro), ace from Hannah Sarafinas (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) and York error swelled the margin to 20-13. The Lions closed out the frame via points from two consecutive York miscues, winning 25-18 to build a 2-1 lead.

York opened up a 10-3 advantage during the final set, but Brandywine steadily chipped away. The Lions recorded four-straight points, the final two of which came on aces by James, to get within three. Brandywine used two York errors to get within two at 14-12 and finally evened the score at 16-16 following another miscue from the visitors.

Tied 18-18, Brandywine erupted for seven of the match's final eight points to secure the win. Two kills by Hope Coacher (Ardmore, Pa./Haverford) and one each from James and Rikelle Taylor (Nottingham, Pa./Solanco) aided the run, which was closed out by York's 22nd attacking error of the night.

Coacher and Sarafinas tied for the team lead with nine kills, while Taylor added eight and James and Amanda Floyd (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) both provided five. Rebecca Gonzalez (Clearwater, Fla./Washburn Academy) and Madison Swenson (Chadds Ford, Pa./Kennett) split the setting duties as Gonzalez tallied 20 assists and Swenson collected 13. Swenson also registered a team-best three aces.

Defensively, James and Floyd each amassed 18 digs. Swenson and Gonzalez each added eight digs, while Gianna Anthony (Newtown Square, Pa./Sacred Heart Academy) produced seven. Taylor posted a match-best three blocks.