This afternoon, the volleyball team opened their latest playoff campaign with a 3-1 win over Kew-Forest in the PSAA quarterfinals.

The Jaguars were not intimidated by the undefeated Bears as they battled their hosts nearly point-for-point throughout game one. The Bears took an early 5-2 lead, but Kew came back to knot the game at 7-7, one of 14 ties in the opening round. The last tie of the game was 21-21, then the Jaguars scored four of the next six points to steal game one, 25-23.

Game one was the first the Bears had ever dropped to a PSAA opponent at home, but they were hardly rattled as they took an early 3-1 lead behind a pair of kills from Bekah Detwiler. Two kills from Ava McCormick pushed the lead to 10-4 followed by two straight kills from Shannuel Lamptey that moved the advantage to 13-5. The Bears remained in control for the remainder of the game. Two kills from Nadia Hall left the Bears up 22-15 before Lamptey closed the 25-16 win with a kill.

In game three, the Bears’ passing hit its stride and paved the way for a 13-2 edge, punctuated by a trio of Detwiler kills. A Lamptey spike left the Brook up 20-10 before Detwiler capped the 25-14 win with a kill.

Game four was tight throughout with ties at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 9-9, 10-10, and 14-14. With the game knotted at 14-14, the Bears closed the game on an 11-4 run thanks to two Hall kills, two Elizabeth Robbins aces, and a Lamptey kill. An Arden Madden ace closed out the 25-18 win, earning the Bears a berth in their fourth consecutive semifinals.

Robbins anchored the defense with 65 digs while Lamptey powered the attack with 9 kills. The Bears are back in action on Wednesday in a home semifinal match vs. #2 Evangel Christian.

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