Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Lady Pioneers make fourth playoff appearance

Rallying to three straight wins, the Point Park University’s women’s volleyball team earned its fourth league playoff birth in the past five years while posting an impressive 29-9 record.”We have a good standing in the playoffs,” said senior defensive specialist Angela Nelson after the Pioneers knocked off Ursuline College, with Houghton College and Roberts Wesleyan College following in less than a week.             Seeded fourth in the American Mideast Conference (AMC) playoff tournament starting Friday, the Pioneers will play the No. 5 seated Cedarville University at 2 p.m. on Friday in the first round of the AMC tournament played at the Ohio home of No. 1 seed Mt. Vernon Nazarene University.  Malone University and Walsh University fill out the brackets.If the Pioneers get past Cedarville, they will have an opportunity to seek revenge on Saturday against Mt. Vernon, Walsh and Malone, who gave Point Park (7-3) its only conference losses this season.              Sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Oberacker is just one player who wants to avenge their losses from earlier in the season.”We will see them in the playoffs,” Oberacker said after a tough loss to rival Walsh earlier this season. There was a mix of emotions last Tuesday as the seniors played their last home game on senior night. “It’s something I have been looking forward to, but don’t want a great thing to end,” senior right side hitter Rachel Roddy said.                 Senior tri-captains Nelson, Roddy and Ashley Zietak have a 105-49 record, the most victories seen by a senior class in the history of Pioneer volleyball.  Roddy had nine kills, two aces, one block and 10 digs in her senior night game to help her team sweep Ursuline.  This gave Roddy a total of 401 kills up to this point in the season, making this the third time she has surpassed the 400 mark in her career.  Middle hitter Zietak had a great performance with 12 kills and two blocks giving her a total of 308 kills and making this her third season with over 300 kills.  Nelson had five serve attempts and two digs with zero errors against Ursuline. “This team is like a family to me. It will be sad leaving,” said Nelson, who is a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) scholar athlete and has one of the best serving percentages on the team with at 90 percent.                 “They have seen the program elevate … they are definitely someone to look to on the court,” sophomore defensive specialist Margaret “MJ” Gillooly said.                The Pioneers demolished Houghton College Friday with scores of 25-21, 25-16 and 25-16. Roddy had another big game adding 16 kills, six digs and two aces to her resume.  Zietak followed with nine kills and four blocks.  Sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Oberacker also added seven kills and two digs to her record. The defense had a solid game with 50 digs, 14 of them coming from sophomore defensive specialist Amanda Ardinger. Junior setter Kate Geary had all 37 assists in the game.                 The team also went on to beat Roberts Wesleyan College on Saturday with a score of 3-1.  Point Park lost the first set to the opposition, but after a close third set with a score of 27-25 the Pioneers were able to keep Roberts Wesleyan at bay. The team had a total of 52 kills, Oberacker having 19 followed by Roddy with 17. The defense had a big night with 81 digs, with 21 coming from Ardinger and 20 from Gillooly. Geary had 46 of the teams’ 49 assists in the match. Point Park was also able to put up nine blocks, two of those being solo blocks by junior middle hitter Rachel Stedina. “We are hitting our stride at the perfect time,” Roddy said. If the team beats Cedarville, it will be the second consecutive trip to the league semifinals.  Last year, the team lost to Walsh in the finals, a feat accomplished for the first time by the Pioneers. 

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