New Top Seeds Look to End Fayette's Long Reign at the Top
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 2021 PSUAC Volleyball Playoff tournament will begin this Thursday, October 28th with all eight teams in quarterfinal action. The format includes four teams from each of the PSUAC's two divisions playing intradivisional first round matches before heading to University Park and Rec Hall, the mecca of women's college volleyball, for the cross-divisional showdowns in the semifinals and championship game.
The field is highlighted by top seeds Penn State Mont Alto and Penn State York, who won tiebreakers on paper with Penn State DuBois and Penn State Brandywine, respectively, to earn the top seed. Penn State Schuylkill and Penn State Lehigh Valley round out the East, while Penn State Greater Allegheny looks to continue their program's momentum as the number three seed in the West.
Each of these teams looks to end the title reign of Penn State Fayette, who finds themselves in unfamiliar territory as the number four seed out West. Fayette has won a whopping 12 PSUAC Championships since 2005, and was the USCAA's most recent national champion in 2019.
The tournament will begin Thursday with the quarterfinals hosted by the top seeds. The semifinals will be held Monday, November 1st at Rec Hall with matches at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. The championship game is set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, November 2nd at Rec Hall.
Championship Page
East Division
#1 Seed Penn State York (15-7 overall, 11-1 PSUAC) vs. #4 Seed Penn State Lehigh Valley (7-10 overall, 5-7 PSUAC)
Thursday, October 28th, 7 p.m.
It's not always a fun story to remember. Less than five years ago, Penn State York's volleyball program was in the cellar of the PSUAC standings and even struggled to finish their season. Fast forward to 2021 and the surging program is the top seed in the East Division. Talk about a turnaround. And despite a midseason stretch where they lost four in a row, they've since rebounded to win their last four matches in convincing fashion. They'll host Penn State Lehigh Valley, who used a three set sweep of Penn State Scranton in a tiebreaker game to punch their ticket into the postseason. York swept both matches during the regular season.
Players to watch: Penn State York: Alexandria Bartram; Hannah Knight; Jessica Dunbar; Sadie Schantz
Penn State Lehigh Valley: Reagan Johnson; Alina Peterson; Bridget Jones
#2 Seed Penn State Brandywine (13-6 overall, 11-1 PSUAC) vs. #3 Seed Penn State Schuylkill (10-8 overall, 8-4 PSUAC)
Thursday, October 28th, 7 p.m.
The last team in the PSUAC to win a volleyball title not named Fayette is Penn State Brandywine, this year's number two seed in the East. They'll play host to Penn State Schuylkill, whom they topped twice during the regular season. Schuylkill's only conference losses came against the teams ahead of them in the standings, and they'll look to improve on their 3-1 loss to Brandywine less than a month ago. Brandywine, much like York, endured a brief losing streak two weeks ago, but rebounded with four straight victories to close out their regular season. Schuylkill won three of their last four to end the year and will look to make it back to Rec Hall after advancing there in 2019 season.
Players to watch: Penn State Brandywine: Suzie Alvarenga; Madison Swenson; Jordan Thompson
Penn State Schuylkill: Jocelyn Marshall; Maddy Felty; Ava Seltzer
West Division
#1 Seed Penn State Mont Alto (18-5 overall, 10-2 PSUAC) vs. #4 Seed Penn State Fayette (12-8 overall, 7-5 PSUAC)
Thursday, October 28th, 7 p.m.
We'll quickly find out if the defending champions can hold onto their crown. Penn State Mont Alto has already dethroned Penn State Fayette from the number one seed in the West and will be able to knock them out early with a quarterfinal win. Perhaps the hottest team in the conference at the moment, Mont Alto has won seven straight matches and despite an early season loss to Fayette, Mont Alto salvaged a season series split with a thrilling 3-2 win on October 3rd. In fact, Mont Alto has lost only once since September 25th, a non-conference blemish to NCAA Division III opponent Gettysburg College. They'll try to continue that stretch of strong volleyball against a Fayette team that knows how to win championships, and finished the year with a mini three-game winning streak themselves.
Players to watch: Penn State Mont Alto: Kylie Denlinger; Rachel Manikowski; Gracie Vaughn; Kylee Gooding
Penn State Fayette: Jadyn Barnish; Kristina Aeschbacher; Pasepa Driso-Buwawa
#2 Seed Penn State DuBois (16-5 overall, 10-2 PSUAC) vs. #3 Seed Penn State Greater Allegheny (17-7 overall, 9-3 PSUAC)
Thursday, October 28th, 7 p.m.
Perhaps the most intriguing match-up of the quarterfinals, Penn State DuBois plays host to Penn State Greater Allegheny in the West's 2/3 game. While DuBois swept the regular season series, Greater Allegheny took them to five sets and four sets in close losses. Both teams are loaded with talented hitters and could make some noise beyond the quarterfinals. Greater Allegheny looks to continue their program's ascent, having qualified for the USCAA National Championship tournament the last time it was played in 2019. DuBois went 9-2 in October, while Greater Allegheny nearly matched the feat going 7-2 during the final month of the season. And both teams picked up wins over the top ranked teams in the East during the crossover weekend nearly three weeks ago, making each a major threat to make the championship game.
Players to watch: Penn State DuBois: Catherine Gregory; Kyara Girvan; Sydney Kaschalk; Skylar Ceprish
Penn State Greater Allegheny: Jenna Gralewski; Alix Ellis; Alexa Martell; Sueriah Timsah