Volleyball nets first RSC win

Written By Dara Collins, Co-Sports Editor

New faces started racking up points for the volleyball team last week. Despite injuries and an unusual lineup, the Pioneers won two straight matches.

“We have injuries that are going on right now, and we all stepped up and obviously it’s going to affect us, but we didn’t let it affect our playing, and we just tried to play as hard as we can and keep up the energy,” junior defensive specialist Ali Peterson said.

The Pioneers stayed close to home for a River States Conference (RSC) matchup against Carlow University in Oakland last Tuesday.

Point Park aimed for the sweep after winning the first two sets, but the Celtics stole the third set in extra points, 27-25. Control bounced back to the Pioneers as they won the fourth set 25-12.

“No matter who you’re playing, no matter who’s on the other side of the court, we have to bring that energy on our side,” assistant coach Bridget Bielich said. “And I think they were extremely aggressive in a lot of their movements, and even when we made errors, they were aggressive errors.”

Junior Morgan Dangelo supported from the sidelines with an ankle injury, so junior Jordan Dixon stepped in as libero picking up nine digs. Middle hitter Destiny Tucker put up seven kills and four blocks. Outside hitter Meg Reineke recorded the second highest number of digs at 16 and sat within the top three attackers with eight kills.

“I think [Meg] has been playing really, really hard and has really grasped and embraced what we’re doing here,” Bielich said.

Point Park totaled 49 kills to Carlow’s 36 as well as 79 digs to 41. Junior Ashley Taylor led the team with 15 kills and 17 digs.

The captain and decorated player stood courtside on crutches for the non-conference match against NCAA Division II opponent Salem International University last Friday.

“We’re definitely going to miss [Ashley], but the nice thing is we have a lot of personnel that are able to move to different positions,” Bielich said. “So I think that tonight was a good indicator that we have girls who are able to step up and make it work.”

The Pioneers collected their first home victory and swept the Tigers 25-17, 25-16 and 25-16.

“I think with new people in new rotations, we all still have to learn how to play together and put the ball down, but I think we did good,” junior Savannah Dishman said.

Setter Julia Menosky tossed out 31 assists. Well over half of the assists went to Reineke, Dishman and Tucker to collect 24 kills.

Point Park looks forward to improving its record in a mix of home and away conference matches.

“A lot of the times for us it’s just more taking care of our side of the net,” Bielich said.

The Pioneers now boast an overall record of 11-8 and improved their conference record to 1-2. The team will play two conference matches this weekend as a part of Point Park University Athletics Alumni Weekend in the Student Center Gym against Midway and Asbury.