Schuylkill Upsets Brandywine In Five-Set Quarterfinal

MEDIA, Pa. -- Third-seeded Penn State Schuylkill pulled an upset in the Penn State University Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament opening round, knocking off second-seeded Penn State Brandywine in five sets (25-13, 18-25, 25-19, 26-28, 15-9) on Thursday night.

Brandywine rallied after trailing by a set twice and staved off three match points to push the game to a fifth-and-deciding set, but Schuylkill ran out to a seven-point lead during the fifth frame to upset the hosts.

Despite the setback, Brandywine saw numerous career-high totals led by Anna Ramirez (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East), who set a team single-match record with 22 kills. Suzie Alvarenga (Fullerton, Calif./Notre Dame Academy) produced a personal-best 32 digs, the Lions' first 30-dig performance since 2018, while Madison Swenson (Chadds Ford, Pa./Kennett) registered 41 assists, a career-high, for Brandywine's first 40-assist effort in five years.

Schuylkill led for the duration of the first set, moving in front by 12 points at 21-9. Three kills from Ramirez and one from Jordan Thompson (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) brought the count to 21-13, but Schuylkill recorded the final four points to claim the opening set.

Brandywine evened the match at 1-1 by taking the second frame. The Lions led 16-14 before scoring three-straight points and later, received three consecutive kills from Amanda Floyd (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro), to take the set 25-18.

Schuylkill used a 9-1 run to open up a 12-4 lead during set No. 3 and held off a furious Brandywine rally. Behind 19-15, Brandywine saw a kill from Ramirez and three-straight by Thompson tie the score; however, a kill by Maddy Felty put an end to Brandywine's surge and started a run of six consecutive Schuylkill points to end the set.

The visitors had three opportunities to put the match away in four sets, but Brandywine had an answer each time. Lexie Berry's (Daegu, South Korea/Daegu) kill knotted the score at 24-24, while consecutive kills from Ramirez tied the score at 25-all and 26-all. A Schuylkill error and another Ramirez kill sent the match to a decisive fifth set.

Schuylkill opened the final frame with the first seven points and never allowed Brandywine to get closer than five ponits down the rest of the way to claim victory.

In addition to her 22 kills, Ramirez tallied 18 digs, while Sydney Stevens (Wilmington, Del./Alexis I. DuPont) collected 16 and Swenson added 13. Thompson produced five blocks on the defensive end and 10 kills offensively.

Brandywine, which saw its streak of consecutive semifinal appearances halted at eight-straight, finished the season with a 13-7 record, including a mark of 11-1 in conference play.