JACKSON, Ohio -- Point Park University volleyball improved to 5-1 on the season with two wins on Friday night at the Emileigh Cooper Memorial Classic hosted by the University of Rio Grande (Ohio). The Pioneers (5-1) swept host Rio Grande, 3-0, and then won the final two sets to rally past Shawnee State (Ohio), 3-2.
The tournament continues Saturday with two more matches for the Pioneers versus Bluefield (Va.) at 9:30 a.m. and WVU Tech at 11:15 a.m. The event is in memory of the former Rio Grande volleyball assistant coach Emileigh Cooper, who died in 2016 in a car accident. It is being held at her alma mater, Jackson High School, in Jackson, Ohio.
POINT PARK 3, RIO GRANDE 0
The Pioneers won in straight sets over River States Conference opponent Rio Grande in what was a non-conference matchup. Point Park won by scores of 25-19, 25-22, 25-19.
Point Park got out to a comfortable lead of 21-14 in the opening set only to have Rio Grande (0-1) get within 22-19. But the Pioneers won the final three points to take the opening set.
Point Park won a second set that was close the entire way. The Pioneers came up with some big plays to win the final three points and take the stanza, 25-22. The third set was close as well, but Point Park took care of business in three.
The Pioneers put together a balanced attack with their 40 kills spread around to eight different players. Julia Menosky (18 assists) and Brittney Bianco (17 assists) directed things with Jazlyn Rozier and Meria Ferragonio each hitting over .300 and collecting seven kills for the match. Jada Jones had five kills and no errors in eight attempts for a .625 percentage.
POINT PARK 3, SHAWNEE STATE 2
The Pioneers won the first set but had to rally to erase a 2-1 deficit later on. Point Park's opening win was 25-21, but a tough loss in the second, 26-24, was followed up by Shawnee State taking the third, 25-16. The Pioneers regrouped to reverse things in the fourth, 25-16, in their favor.
Point Park got a great start to the fifth with Taylor Small smashing two straight kills for an early lead of 3-0. She had a team-high 17 kills. The Pioneers later built a 10-5 lead on a kill by Jazlyn Rozier. She had 12 kills in her season debut.
The Pioneers went on to close out the match, 15-10. They hit .500 as a team in the fifth set with six kills and zero errors in 12 attempts. Point Park ended up with four players in double figures for kills with Haley English putting up 16, and Maria Ferragonio adding 12. Small hit .428 to lead the percentages.
Julia Menosky totaled 31 assists, and Brittney Bianco had 16. English piled up 23 digs, Ashley Castelli had 18 and Ferragonio had 16. At the net, Rozier totaled four blocks while Ferragonio and Jada Jones chipped in three each.
FOLLOW THE PIONEERS
Follow the Pioneers all season long at PointParkSports.com and on social media @PointParkSports and @PointParkVB. Live video is scheduled for Saturday's match versus WVU Tech (11:15 a.m.) in a non-conference matchup.
