After being picked to finish fifth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) preseason coaches’ poll, Slippery Rock University volleyball has taken it personally.
The Rock took care of business at the Hall of Fame City Challenge as they took down Roberts Wesleyan University, Frostburg State University and Malone University. These victories came after they lost their opening bout to Walsh University.
With back-to-back weekends of three win and one loss outings, the team has no fear as they look ahead.
With a roster consisting of six seniors, one graduate student and five juniors, it has been the young talent impressing early on.
Sophomore Callie Chevalier showed up by tallying 49 kills this past weekend at the Hall of Fame City Challenge. Chevalier started all but six games for The Rock last season and has hopes of being a leader for the team this campaign. Her 49 kills at the Hall of Fame City Challenge are already 30% of her final total last season.
Fellow Sophomore Jaeden Yost continued her red-hot start to the season as she recorded an impressive 93 assists on the weekend. This builds on her already promising start where the week prior at the Fairmont State Classic she posted 67 assists.
For the upperclassmen, senior Kate Lachendro had herself a record-breaking weekend. The libero slides into joint 15th place all-time in program history for digs as she now has 1,284.
With the slew of tournaments to begin their campaign, it is a promising sign to see the squad winning frequently on the road. This will give the team plenty of confidence when they return to Morrow Field House on September 19. Of the eight PSAC games to open their season, half of them will be on home turf.
Last season at Morrow Field House, Head Coach Laurie Lokash led her team to a 7-2 record. This was the first winning record on home court since 2018. She looks to turn those multiple losing seasons around and begin a streak of winning year’s after last season.
The Rock enters one last tournament before they begin PSAC play. On Sept. 15 they head to Virginia for the Atlantic Region Crossover. There, they will look to defeat West Liberty, Notre Dame, Wheeling and Fairmont State universities.
