CLARION, PA --The Fayetteville State volleyball team knocked off the Lake Erie Storm in five sets (25-23, 25-19, 19-25, 20-25, 18-16) Friday at Clarion University's Tippin Gymnasium in the first game of the Tony Banner Memorial Volleyball Tournament.
The out-of-conference win improved Fayetteville State's overall record to 1-0 for the season-opener. Lake Erie drops to 0-1 to start the season.
The Broncos offense was paced by Chiara Vittoni, who finished with 16 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .462, and Sydney Kendal-Eason, who had 15 while hitting .375. Defensively, FSU had three players reach double figures in digs, including Jordan Johnson's 21, 12 from Casandra Watson, and 10 more from Jaida Bynum. From the front row, Sonjai Guiles contributed five blocks.
Game Notes
» Fayetteville State had three players in double figures in digs.
» Jordan Johnson had a team-high three aces in the win.
» Chiara Vittoni had a team-high 16 kills for Fayetteville State.
» Fayetteville State got a match-high 21 digs from Jordan Johnson.
» Fayetteville State attackers were helped by a team-high 23 assists from Jaida Bynum.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Broncos survived a back-and-forth first set to win 25-23 in a stanza that featured four lead changes and was tied nine times. Neither team led by more than four points in the match.
SET 2 | Fayetteville State carried momentum from a set-one win by securing a 25-19 victory in the second set. The Broncos never trailed by more than five points and grabbed the advantage for good at 13-12 in a set that showcased two lead changes before Fayetteville State took over the lead. The Fayetteville State offense also got a boost from four aces in the stanza.
SET 3 | Fayetteville State couldn't end the match in a sweep, dropping the third set to make their lead two sets to one in the match. The Broncos lost the first point and never clawed back into the lead before losing the set 25-19.
SET 4 | Fayetteville State then dropped their second straight set 25-20 to brind the match level at two sets apiece. The Broncos trailed by as many as six points as Lake Erie grabbed the advantage for good at 14-13 and Fayetteville State was never able to recover in a set that was knotted up six times before the Storm took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 5 | Fayetteville State needed five sets to secure victory. After they jumped out to an early two sets to none lead, Lake Erie responded to take the third and fourth sets before the Broncos finished off their victory with an 18-16 fifth-set win. The Broncos took the fifth set powered by a strong showing on the attacking end. Fayetteville State registered a .500 attack percentage with 15 kills in the set win. After the lead changed hands one time, the Broncos took control for good at 16-15 and rode that advantage to victory.
