University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
   Women's Volleyball  

Stories & Highlights
2007 season 

Volleyball Team Clinches Playoff Berth with Win (11/4/07)

Entering Saturday’s final regular season conference match against Post University, the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women’s volleyball team needed not just a win but also a little help from others if they wanted their season to continue. The Devils did their part by defeating the Eagles 3-0 at the Drubner Center in Waterbury, Connecticut.

The help came shortly after the Devils win as Felician College defeated Wilmington, 3-2 to eliminate the Wildcats and give the Devils their fourth playoff berth in the last five years. The win against Post gives the Devils a final CACC record of 10-8 while their overall record is 16-16. Post falls to 8-22 overall and 8-9 in CACC games. USP won the match with scores of 30-19, 30-24, and 30-24.

USP’s 16 overall victories and ten CACC wins, doubles their victory totals from the 2006 season. The Devils will now face #1 seed in the south division Georgian Court University on Tuesday, November 6, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. in Lakewood, New Jersey. The winner will advance to the CACC semi-finals, held at USP on Friday, November 9, with the CACC championship game slated for Saturday, November 10 at USP.

Freshman Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) led the Devils with 12 kills and five blocks. Sophomore Andrea Cardine (Reading Central Catholic/ Temple, Pa.) had one of her best games hitting, recording nine kills without and error in 17 swings for a .529 attack percentage. Cardine also added two blocks. Seniors Ladonna Landmesser (Archbishop Prendergast HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.) and Olja Marjanovic (Sr., Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) set the offense for USP recording 20 and 15 assists respectively. Defensively, senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/ Reisterstown, Md.) and junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) had had 13 digs apiece. Wenderoth also had three service aces to lead the Devils.

Kerry Smith led Post with eight kills while Natasha Loving added seven. Michelle Stotz had 11 digs and Desere Obregon finished the match with 23 assists. Stotz also had four aces.

USP used an 8-1 run in the early part of the first game to take a 11-4 lead, forcing a Post timeout. The Eagles battled back to pull within four 16-12 before two kills by Cardine and one by Rich boosted the Devils lead to seven 19-12. The lead was six, 21-15 when the Devils went on a five point rally, getting an ace from Cardine and two kills from junior Megan Wolfe (Newman Catholic/Rothschild, Wis.) to boost their advantage to 26-15 before settling in for the 30-19 win.

The Devils trailed for most of the second game until Wenderoth’s kill tied the game at 19-19. A Post attack error and an ace by sophomore Kirsten Lechner (DePaul Catholic/ Wayne, N.J.) gave the Devils a 21-19 lead. After Post pulled within one 24-23, the Eagles made four straight errors to give the Devils a 28-23 lead. Three rallies later another Eagle attack error gave the Devils the game 30-24.

Post jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the third game before kills by Rich and Cardine started an 8-0 run that gave the Devils a 10-6 lead. The Devils went up by five 13-8 before Post scored six straight points to take a 14-13 lead. With the game later tied at 17-17, the Devils went on a 9-2 run to take a 26-19 lead. Cardine’s ninth kill of the match made the score 29-21 before the Eagles ran off three straight points to pull within five 29-24. A service error by Post’s Nicole Gizzi gave the Devils their final point, a 30-24 win in the game and more importantly a 3-0 win in the match.

In USP’s second match of the day the Devils fell to regionally ranked (#2) Bryant University, 3-0 to end the regular season with a 16-16 record. Bryant won the three games by scores of 30-23, 30-17 and 30-20.

Freshman Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) led the Devils with ten kills. Puschak had just two errors in 19 swings for an attack percentage of .421. Landmesser and Marjanovic led the Devils with 16 and 10 assists respectively. Tauschek led the Devils with 12 digs.

Rams Snap Devils Win Streak (10/30/07)

Philadelphia University handed the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia their first loss since October 18th as the Rams defeated the Devils 3-0 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference volleyball match at the Gallagher Center in East Falls Tuesday night.

The loss snapped the Devils four-game win streak and drops their overall record to 15-14. USP also falls to 9-7 in CACC games and are now tied with Wilmington University for the fourth and final playoff spot after Wilmington recorded a 3-0 win over Holy Family a little later in the evening. Philadelphia University is now 21-13 overall and 14-3 in league play. The Rams swept the three games with scores of 30-23, 30-22 and 30-9.

Senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/ Reisterstown, Md.) led the Devils with nine kills. Sophomore Andrea Cardine (Reading Central Catholic/ Temple, Pa.) and freshman Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) added five kills each. Puschak also led the Devils with two aces. Defensively, the Devils were led by junior Claire Tauschek's (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) 25 digs. Wenderoth also added 13 to USP's total of 57 digs. Freshman Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) led the Devils with three blocks while Wenderoth, Puschak and senior Olja Marjanovic (Sr., Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) had two apiece. Marjanovic and fellow senior Ladonna Landmesser (Archbishop Prendergast HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.) set up the USP offense with 11 and 12 assists respectively.

Emily Krauss led the Rams with 13 kills while Nicole Berkstresser added eight. Natalie Amodei had three aces while Lauren Hoover set the Ram offense with 30 assists. Defensively, Cassandra Peck led Philadelphia with 16 digs. Amodei and Hoover added 12 and 10 respectively. Berkstresser and Lindsey Butler each had three blocks in the match.

USP's next match will be on Thursday, November 1, 2007 when they travel to northeast Philadelphia to take on Holy Family University in a match that will have playoff implications. USP then ends their regular season on Saturday, November 3, 2007 at Post University where they will face the Eagles and Bryant University in a tri-match.

Devils Rally to Defeat Chargers (10/27/07)

The visiting Devils of the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia came back from a 0-2 deficit to win their fourth straight match, defeating host Dominican College, 3-2 Saturday afternoon in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) women’s volleyball action in Blauvelt, New York.

After dropping the first two games 31-29 and 30-26, the Devils rallied to take the next two 30-27 and 30-20 before capturing the fifth and deciding game 15-11. The win improves the Devils record to 15-13 overall and 9-6 in league play. The Lady Chargers fall to 5-15 overall and 5-11 in CACC games.

The Devils placed four players in double figures in kills, led by freshman Cady Rich’s (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) 15. Senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/ Reisterstown, Md.) added 14 while sophomore Andrea Cardine (Reading Central Catholic/ Temple, Pa.) had 13. Freshman Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) chipped in 10 along with four blocks. Rich also had four blocks. Wenderoth also had 12 digs, recording her ninth double-double of the season and her fourth in the last five matches. Junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) paced the Devils with 14 digs. Tauschek also handled the setting duties for the first two games, recording 23 assists. Seniors Olja Marjanovic (Sr., Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) and Ladonna Landmesser (Archbishop Prendergast HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.) took the setting for the final three games, recording 12 assists apiece. USP also had six different players record an ace, led by Wenderoth’s five and sophomore Kirsten Lechner’s (DePaul Catholic/ Wayne, N.J.) four. As a team the Devils had a season high 17.

Kinikia Collier and Catherine Giordano led the Lady Chargers with 16 and 11 kills respectively. Collier and Giordano also recorded double-doubles on the afternoon with Collier recording a game-high 20 digs and Giordano adding 12.

Dominican took advantage of 20 attack errors in the first two games, holding off a USP rally to defeat the Devils 31-29 in the first and using an 8-2 run to turn a 17-15 deficit into a 23-19 lead en route to a 30-26 victory.

Down, two games to none; the Devils shuffled their lineup, moving Tauschek back to the libero position and had the setting duties assumed by Marjanovic and Landmesser for game three. The lineup shuffle did not appear to be working as the Chargers jumped out to a 7-2 lead. After USP forced a side out to make the score 7-3, Lechner served four straight points as the Devils tied the score at 7-7. A kill by Marjanovic gave the Devils their first lead of the game, 9-8. The lead later became 11-9 before Dominican scored four straight to retake the lead 13-11. USP tied the score for the seventh time in the game at 14-14 and took 15-14 lead on Tauschek’s ace. Neither team gained more than a single point lead and the score was tied another eight times, the last at 24-24 before the Lady Chargers scored twice to take a 26-24 lead. Three straight errors by the Chargers and the Devils had a 27-26 lead. Puschak’s kill made the score 28-26. After a DC point, a kill by junior Megan Wolfe (Newman Catholic/Rothschild, Wis.) and an attack error by the Chargers gave the Devils a 30-27 win.

In game four, Landmesser served ten straight points as the Devils turned an 8-3 lead into an 18-3 advantage. Dominican followed with seven straight points to make the score 18-10 but this was as close as they would come as the Devils evened the match at 2-2 with a 30-20 win.

USP jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth and final game but a 6-3 run by the Lady Chargers tied the score at 6-6. The game was still tied at 7-7 when kills by Puschak and Wenderoth gave the Devils a 9-7 lead. DC again tied the game at 9-9 and again at 10-10 when the Devils forced a side out and got another kill from Wenderoth to take a 12-10 lead. After Dominican forced a side out to make the score 12-11,the Devils countered with three straight points, culminating with an ace by Wenderoth to take the game, 15-11 and the match.

The Devils return to action on Tuesday, October 30, 2007 when they visit Philadelphia University. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

Seniors Shine in Devils Last Regular Season Home Game (10/25/07)

The seniors took the spotlight in the final regular season home game for the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's volleyball team Thursday night as they defeated Goldey Beacom College, 3-0 for their third straight win.

USP took the first game, 30-18, the second 30-23 and the third 30-19. The win improves the Devils record to 14-13 overall and 8-6 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games. Goldey Beacom falls to 3-22 overall and 2-12 in league play.

Prior to the start of the match, USP's three seniors were honored in a brief ceremony conducted by head coach Michael Sinesi. The seniors, outside hitter, Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/ Reisterstown, Md.), setter Ladonna Landmesser (Archbishop Prendergast HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.) and right side hitter/setter Olja Marjanovic (Sr., Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) have contributed to 58 wins for the Devils over their four season at USP, including tonight's game. The 58 wins equal the most wins ever by a senior class over the course of their careers.

In the match , Wenderoth led all players with 13 kills, hitting .440 (13-2-25) on the evening. Lindsey added 18 digs for her eighth double-double of the season and the 43rd of her career in this her 100th career match. Landmesser recorded 10 assists on the night, one of three players on the USP squad to have 10 or more assists. Ladonna also added seven digs. Marjanovic had 15 assists and a block on the evening.

Double-doubles were also recorded by freshman Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) and junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.). Rich had ten kills on the night and a career-high 10 blocks (eight solo). Tauschek, splitting time between setting and the libero position, had 16 assists and 15 digs. Sophomore Andrea Cardine (Reading Central Catholic/ Temple, Pa.) added 10 digs and seven kills while freshman Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) had nine kills and five blocks.

Jillian Murphy and Kendra Russell led the Lightning with eight kills apiece. Murphy also had a team-high 17 digs. Christine Huddock added 15 digs. Chantel Pierre and Russell had two blocks each and Danielle Hicks set the Lightning offense with 16 assists.

The Devils jumped out to a 7-3 lead and led 11-8 after the first service rotation. After both teams exchanged sideouts, Tauschek served four straight points to boost the Devils lead to 16-9. Cardine followed with three service points to give the Devils a double-digit lead 20-10. The Lightning rallied to pull within six, 21-15 before a kill by Wenderoth stopped the run and gave the Devils the serve. Puschak served four straight points to make the score 26-15. Landmesser followed with two more service points to bring the Devils within a point of winning the game 29-16. A sideout and another point by Goldey followed to make the score 29-18 before Rich dropped a perfect shot for a kill to give the Devils the first game 30-18.

USP opened an 11-5 lead in the second game before the Lightning had a couple of small rallies to pull within four 17-13. Two services points from Wenderoth later made the score 20-13. Goldey Beacom then pulled within five 25-20. The Devils added only one more point off serving the rest of the game, but that was all they needed as they took advantage of a attack errors by the Lightning to go up 29-23. With Goldey Beacom serving, junior Megan Wolfe (Newman Catholic/Rothschild, Wis.) landed the kill that gave the Devils the game, 30-23 and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Goldey Beacom had a couple of early leads in the third game and kept in close through the middle of the second service rotation. With the game tied at 13-13, the Devils forced a sideout to regain the lead, 14-13. Sophomore Kirsten Lechner (Depaul Catholic/ Wayne, N.J.) then served three straight points to boost USP's lead to 17-13. USP still had a four point lead when a double block by Marjanovic and Puschak gave the Devils the serve and a 21-16 lead. Landmesser then re-entered the game and served six straight points to make the score 28-16. The Lightning added three more points before Wenderoth served the final two points with Rich recording the final kill to give the game to the Devils 30-19.

The Devils are at Dominican College on Saturday, October 27, 2007 before returning to the Philadelphia area for critical road matches against area rivals Philadelphia University and Holy Family University next Tuesday (10/30) and Thursday (11/1).

Devils Return to .500 with win over Chestnut Hill (10/24/07)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia defeated host Chestnut Hill College 3-0 Tuesday night in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference women's volleyball match at CHC's Sorgenti Arena.

The Devils are now 13-13 overall on the season and 7-6 in CACC games. Chestnut Hill falls to 0-15 overall and in conference play. USP won the games with scores of 30-19, 30-10, and 30-10.

Freshmen Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) and Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) led the Devils with 10 kills apiece. Rich had only one attack error and hit .750 (10-1-12) while Puschak had two errors and hit .615 (10-2-13) . Senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/Reisterstown, Md.) added seven. Puschak and sophomore Kirsten Lechner (Depaul Catholic/ Wayne, N.J.) also led the Devils with four service aces while Lechner led all players with eight digs. Rich added three solo blocks and junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.), doing the setting duties for the second consecutive match, had 26 assists.

Lisa Doria and Marianne Finfrock had three kills each for the Griffins. Finfrock also led CHC with six digs. Doria had two blocks and Kim Paynter paced the Griffins with six assists.

The Devils scored the first five points in the opening game and built an 16-8 lead before the Griffins cut the deficit to five 17-12. A kill by Rich and an ace by Tauschek made the score 19-12. Five points later, Finfrock's kill made the score 21-15 but that was as close as the Griffins would get as the Devils outscored CHC 9-5 down the stretch to win game one 30-19.

Chestnut Hill scored the first point in game two but the Devils by scoring four of the next five to take a 4-2 lead. The Devils still led 7-5 when a kill by Puschak returned the serve to USP with an 8-5 lead. What followed was 13 straight points with Lechner serving which included two aces, four kills from Puschak and two kills by Wenderoth to give the Devils a commanding 21-5 lead before CHC forced a sideout to end the run. The Devils ended the game with a 9-4 run with sophomore Kayleen Piszczek (So., Holy Name HS/Sinking Spring, Pa.) adding the final touch with an ace for the game-winner.

USP opened game three with a 10-3 run and built the lead to 20-8 to force a Griffin timeout. Both teams followed with service errors and the Devils led 21-9 before Puschak all but closed it out with eight straight points while serving. Rich's solo block was the game winner as the Devils won 30-10.

USP returns to action on Thursday, October 25, 2007 for their final regular season home game. The Devils will face Goldey Beacom College and will honor their seniors prior to the game, which is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.

Wenderoth Records 1,000th Kill as Devils Defeat Nyack (10/20/07)

Senior Lindsey Wenderoth became just the third women's volleyball player in school history to record 1000 career kills as the University of the Sciences snapped their two-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over Nyack College Saturday at the Bobby Morgan Arena in Philadelphia.

The Devils improve to 12-13 overall with the win and 6-6 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games. Nyack falls to 8-11 overall and 7-6 in league games. The Devils swept the match with scores of 30-22, 30-16 and 30-15.

Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/Reisterstown, Md.) entered the game needing seven kills to reach the mark and recorded five in the first two games of the match. As the third game progressed, the senior outside hitter recorded a kill early and reached the milestone with the Devils leading 12-7. Lindsey finished the match with 10 kills and 15 digs, to record her second consecutive double-double and her seventh of the season.

Also reaching a milestone was freshman Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.). Rich had four blocks on the afternoon to become just the fifth player in school history to record 100 blocks in a season, reaching the mark early in the third game and finishing with exactly 100 for the season to date. The freshman middle blocker is just the third first-year player in school history to reach the 100-blocks in a season mark and the first since Erin Conway had 114 in 2001. Rich also set a school single season record for block assists, tallying her 59th in in game two.

Freshman Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) joined Wenderoth in double figures for kills, leading all players with 12. Puschak hit .455 (12-2-22) and Wenderoth hit .212 (10-3-33). Wenderoth also added a service ace and had no service errors in 14 attempts. Megan Wolfe (Newman Catholic/Rothschild, Wis.) also hit well for the Devils, recording six kills with just one error in 17 swings for a hitting percentage of .294. Junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) set-up the Devils offense, recording a career-high 30 assists. Tauschek also led the Devils with three service aces and 16 digs. Freshman Kaylei DeHart (St. Mark's HS/Wilmington, Del.) added 14 digs while sophomore Andrea Cardine (Reading Central Catholic/ Temple, Pa.) chipped in 11. Senior Olja Marjanovic (Sr., Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) added four blocks (two solo) while Puschak had three block assists on the afternoon.

Nyack was led by Taneisha Cantave's six kills and three blocks. Colleen Weidman had 16 digs while Tara Leegwater had 15 assists.

The Devils jumped out to an early 14-6 lead in the first game before the Warriors forced a sideout and then rallied to cut the deficit to three 14-11. USP built the lead back up to eight, 21-13 getting two service points from Rich. The Devils further increased their lead to double-digits, 27-16 before another Nyack rally brought them within six 27-21. USP took three of the next four points to prevail 30-22.

Three straight service points from Wenderoth gave the Devils an early 8-2 lead in game two. Nyack closed the gap to four 10-6 before the Devils forced a sideout and sophomore Kirsten Lechner (Depaul Catholic/ Wayne, N.J.) added three straight service points of her own to make the score 14-6 after the first service rotation. Puschak followed with four consecutive service points and the Devils held a commanding 19-7 lead. USP increased the lead to 16, 26-10 before Nyack staged a short rally late in the game before the Devils recouped to finish the game with a 30-16 win.

The Warriors had their first lead of the match in the opening moments of the third game, scoring the first two points to take a 2-0 lead before the Devils scored four straight times to lead 4-2. USP doubled their lead by the end of the first service rotation 11-7. The Devils still led 22-13 when they forced a sideout and Lechner recorded five straight service points to make the score 28-13. Both teams exchanged sideouts over the next four volleys as the Devils took the game, 30-15 and the match.

USP returns to action on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 when they travel to Chestnut Hill College to take on the Griffins.

USP Falls to Wilmington (10/19/07)

The Wilmington University Wildcats handed the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's volleyball team their second straight Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference loss, 3-1 Thursday Night at the Pratt Center in New Castle, Delaware.

The loss drops the Devils to 11-13 overall and 5-6 in CACC games. USP also falls to fifth place in the CACC South standings behind the Wildcats who improves to 9-16 overall and 6-5 in league play. The top four teams from the CACC South Division and the CACC North Division will qualify for the playoffs.

The Wildcats took the first game 30-24 as the Devils committed 14 attack errors to WU's three. USP rebounded to take game two 30-24 on a solid 18-kill attack. With the match tied at 1-1, the Wildcats dominated the third game, winning 30-17 before holding off a Devil comeback in game four to take the final game 31-29 to win the match.

Offensively the Devils were led by sophomore Andrea Cardine (Reading Central Catholic/ Temple, Pa.) and senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/Reisterstown, Md.). Both players recorded 14 kills apiece. USP also got 11 kills from freshman Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) and 10 from fellow freshman Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.). Cardine also paced the Devils with three service aces and hit .258 (14-6-31) for the match.

Kate Brown led the Wildcats with 13 kills, hitting .407 (13-2-27) for the match. Meghan Frick added 12 kills and three service aces while hitting .167 (12-5-42). Brown's effort included a six-kill, zero-error performance in game three (6-0-9, .667).

On the defensive side, the Devils had four players reach double figures in digs, led by junior Claire Tauschek's (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) 24. Wenderoth added 21 while Cardine chipped in 17, including the 500th of her career in game three. Andrea becomes just the tenth women's volleyball player in school history to record 500 career digs. Freshman Kaylei DeHart (St. Mark's HS/Wilmington, Del.) also reached double figures in digs, contributing 11 to the Devils total of 87. Rich and senior Olja Marjanovic (Sr., Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) had three blocks apiece.

Three Wilmington players, Kristie Shropshire, Brittany O'Neill and Frick had 19 digs apiece to lead the Wildcats who finished the match with 75 digs. Brittani Leathern had six blocks while Julia Atkins added four for the Wildcats who out blocked the Devils 12-5 in the match.

As a team, the Devils were out-hit, .145 (49-24-172) to .077 (55-41-183), committing 41 attack errors in the four games. USP also finished the match with the edge in aces (9-6) and digs (87-75).

The Devils return home to take on Nyack College on Saturday, October 20, 2007 at the Bobby Morgan Arena. The match is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.

Lions Snap Devils Win Streak (10/16/07)

Defending Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference women's volleyball champion Georgian Court University snapped the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia's two-game winning streak tuesday night, 3-0 at the Bobby Morgan Arena in Philadelphia.

The loss drops the Devils record to 11-12 overall and 5-5 in CACC games. Georgian Court improves to a league best 12-0 and 21-5 overall. The Lions won the first game, 30-24 and took the next two games 30-21 and 30-24 to complete the sweep.

Senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/Reisterstown, Md.) led the Devils with six kills and a pair of service aces. Freshman Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) also had six kills. Senior Ladonna Landmesser (Archbishop Prendergast HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.) led USP with 10 assists.

The Lions were paced by Janelle Murdock and Ann Casado who each recorded nine kills in the match. Casado and Billeny Rivera each had aces while Casado led all players with 14 assists, one of three Georgian Court players to record at least assists in the match (Lisamary Figueroa (11) and Heather Walker (10)).

Defensively, junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) led all players with 19 digs while Wenderoth added 14. Freshman middle blocker Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) had five blocks (three solo) while senior Olja Marjanovic (Sr., Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) added three (one solo).

The Lions had three players record at least 10 digs with Rebecca Walczak leading the way with 17. Billeny Rivera added 15 while Lissette Zayas chipped in 10. Crystal Murdock led GCU with four blocks (two solo).

As a team the Lions outhit the Devils .151 (43-22-139) to .016 (21-19-123) and held a 2-to-1 edge in service aces (8-4). The Devils finished the match with a total of 10 team blocks to GCU's seven but the Lions held a 65-56 advantage in digs.

Next up for USP will be another CACC matchup as the Devils travel south to Wilmington, Delaware to take on Wilmington University on Thursday, October 18, 2007. Both teams are currently 5-5 in league play and tied for the final playoff spot in the CACC South Division.

Devils Even Record with Win over Caldwell (10/13/07)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's volleyball team even their season record on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Caldwell College at the Newman Center in Caldwell , New Jersey.

The win gives the Devils an 11-11 overall record while improving their record in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games to 5-4. Caldwell falls to 1-20 overall and 1-9 in CACC games.

The Cougars hung tough in the first game as the Devils eventually came away with a 30-28 win. USP took game two, 30-18 and finished the match with a game three win 30-24.

Freshmen Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) and Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) led the Devils with ten and nine kills respectively. Puschak also led the Devils with five aces while junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) added four. Sophomore Andrea Cardine (Reading Central Catholic/ Temple, Pa.) added seven kills and three aces while hitting a team best .333 (7-1-18) in the match. Senior Ladonna Landmesser (Archbishop Prendergast HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.) paced the Devils with 28 assists. Tauschek led the Devils defense with 20 digs while senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/Reisterstown, Md.) added ten. Cardine and Landmesser added nine digs each.

Keesha Francois paced the Cougars with 11 kills while Cory Roesing added nine. Kendra Kane and Lauren Herzog added two aces apiece while Kathleen Estes led the Cougars with 16 digs.

The Devils hit .117 (37-22-128) as a team with a total of 13 aces. Caldwell hit .047 (29-23-127) with five aces. Both teams finished the game with 57 digs.

Next up for the Devils will be a home match against defending CACC Champions Georgian Court University on Tuesday, October 16, 2007. first serve will be at 7:00 p.m.

Devils Defeat Lightning (10/10/07)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's volleyball team recorded their first ever win at Goldey Beacom College on Tuesday night, defeating the Lightning 3-0 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) match at the Joseph West Jones Arena.

Entering the game, the Devils had been 0-10 at Goldey Beacom in the all-time series which dates back to 1998. The win was also just the fourth ever against the Lightning in 22 tries. With the win, the Devils improve to 10-11 overall and evened their record in CACC games at 4-4.

Offensively the Devils were led by this week's CACC Player of the Week, senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/Reisterstown, Md.) and sophomore Andrea Cardine (Reading Central Catholic/ Temple, Pa.). Wenderoth led all players with 13 kills and hit .321 (13-4-28) while Cardine added 12 kills and hit .261 (12-6-23). Wenderoth also recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 13 digs. Cardine also recorded a double-double, her second in the last three matches with 10 digs. Freshman Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) and Cardine led the Devils with two service aces apiece. Seniors Seniors Olja Marjanovic (Sr., Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) and Ladonna Landmesser (Archbishop Prendergast HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.) set up the Devils offense recording 26 and 16 assists respectively.

On the defensive side, junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) led all players with 21 digs, joining Wenderoth and Cardine in double figures. Freshman Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) had four blocks (one solo), while Cardine added two.

Kendra Russell and Danielle Hicks led the Lightning with seven kills apiece. Chantel Pierre had five blocks while A.J. hicks had two aces. Christine Huddock led Goldey Beacom with 14 digs.

The Devils took a hard-fought first game 31-29 before completing the sweep with wins of 30-16 and 30-20 in games two and three.

The Lightning led for much of the first game, opening up a 17-12 lead and forcing a USP timeout. After the timeout, USP ran off five straight points, taking advantage attack errors and a bad set by Goldey Beacom and getting a key block from Cardine and Rich along the way to tie the score at 17-17. Cardine followed with a kill to give the Devils their first lead of the game 18-17. The Lightning rallied for four straight points to go back on top 21-18. USP came back to pull within one 23-22 before Pierre landed a kill to make the score 24-22 in favor of the Lightning. Rich produced the next two points for the Devils, the first on a kill and the next on a solo block to tie the game at 24-24. USP added another point to go up 25-24 and both teams exchanged points until Cardine's ace put the Devils up by two 28-26. A bad set by Danielle Hicks made the score 29-26 in favor of the Devils before the Lightning struck for three straight points to tie the game at 29-29. Cardine and Wenderoth followed with consecutive kills to close out the game and give USP a 31-29 win.

In game two, the Lightning scored the first four points to jump out to a 4-0 advantage before the Devils rallied with eight straight points to take an 8-4 lead. The Lightning came back to pull within one 11-10 before USP ran off five more points to lead 16-10. A short 4-2 run by Goldey Beacom ended abruptly with two straight kills by junior Megan Wolfe (Newman Catholic/Rothschild, Wis.) to make the score 20-14. A Cardine ace and an attack errors by GBC's A.J. Hicks gave the Devils their biggest lead at the time 22-14. After both teams exchanged points to make the score 24-16, the Devils scored the final six points of the game, getting three kills from Wenderoth during the run to take the second game 30-16.

USP came out and dominated in game three, getting 18 kills and hitting .419 (18-5-31) while the Lightning had just 11 kills and hit .143 (11-6-35). Cardine started the match with two straight kills and the Devils never looked back, opening leads of 10-5 and 17-9 before Cardine's sixth kill of the game and two straight kills by Wolfe gave the Devils their first double-digit lead of the game 21-11. After the Lightning pulled within nine, 23-14, Wenderoth followed with two straight kills, USP's last kills of the match to take a 24-13 lead. An ace by Puschak and five errors by the Lightning led to USP's final six points as they took the game 30-20 and the match 3-0.

Next up for the Devils will be another Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference matchup on Saturday, October 13, 2007 as the Devils take on Caldwell College in Caldwell, New Jersey.

Deacons Defeat Devils in Four (10/4/07)

The Bloomfield College women's volleyball team handed the University of the Sciences their fourth Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) loss of the season, 3-1, thursday night at the Bobby Morgan Arena in Philadelphia.

Bloomfield took the first game, 30-24 before the Devils came back to even the match with a 30-23 win in game two. The Deacons then won the final two games, 30-27 and 30-22. The loss drops the Devils record to 8-10 overall and 3-4 in league games. Bloomfield improves to 7-13 overall and 6-1 in league games.

Senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/Reisterstown, Md.) led the Devils with 10 kills, while freshman Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) had eight. Wenderoth added 13 digs for a double-double on the night. Junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) led all players with 37 digs, while sophomore Andrea Cardine (Reading Central Catholic/ Temple, Pa.) and freshman Kaylei DeHart (St. Mark's HS/Wilmington, Del.) added 12 apiece. Cardine also served four of the Devils nine aces on the evening. Rich had three solo blocks while fellow freshman Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) led the Devils with four (one solo). Seniors Ladonna Landmesser (Archbishop Prendergast HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.) and Olja Marjanovic (Sr., Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) split the setting duties, recording 16 and 14 assists respectively.

Ursula Periera had 14 kills,14 digs and nine blocks to pace the Deacons. Celeste Lindsey added eight kills and six blocks. Nilmara Zanette led the Deacons with 19 digs while Sonia Perez added 14. Perez also recorded 31 assists setting up the Deacon offense.

The Devils held a 16-9 lead in game one before the Deacons rattled off eight straight points to take a 17-16 lead. USP battled back to take a 21-20 lead before Bloomfield scored seven straight points to lead 27-21. USP pulled back to within three 27-24 before the Deacons scored the final three points to win 30-24.

In game two, the Devils led by two, 8-6 when Tauschek served eight straight points to open up a 16-6 lead. Bloomfield pulled within seven 19-12 before two quick points boosted the lead back to nine 21-12. The Deacons again pulled within seven and trailed 26-19 at the end of the second service rotation. Both teams exchanged points to make the score 27-20 before the Devils won a long rally which saw several diving saves and great digs by both teams before the Devils put it home to take a 28-20 lead. Landmesser served the next point to make the score 29-20 before the Deacons forced a side out to make the score 29-21. Two more points made the score 29-23 but on the next rally, Rich slammed down a kill to seal the win and even the match at 1-1.

The Devils jumped out to an early 11-9 lead after the first service rotation before the Deacons rallied to take a 15-13 lead. After regaining the serve trailing 15-14, Tauschek served four straight points to put the Devils up 18-15. Bloomfield came back with four straight points of their own to take a 19-18 lead before the Devils rallied to tie the score at 24-all at the end of the second service rotation. The score was still tied at 27-27 when the Deacons forced a side out and with Celeste Lindsey serving scored the next two points to win 30-27.

Bloomfield jumped out to an 8-4 lead in game four and led 12-8 after the first service rotation. The Devils rallied to tie the score at 12-12 before the Deacons scored three straight to go back up by three 15-12. USP later pulled within two 20-18 before the Deacons went on a 6-1 run to lead 26-19 before cruising to a 30-22 win to take game and the match.

The Devils are on the road on Saturday, October 6, 2007 when they take on Molly College and New Haven University in New Haven, Connecticut.

Devils Even CACC Record with Win over Wildcats (10/2/07)

Lindsey Wenderoth returned to action for the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's volleyball after missing her last match with an injury to help lead the Devils to a 3-0 win over Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference rival Wilmington University Tuesday night at the Bobby Morgan Arena.

The win improves the Devils record to 8-9 overall and even their CACC record at 3-3. Wilmington falls to 5-13 overall and 3-2 in league play. For the Devils the win was only their second ever against the Wildcats in 41 tries going back to 1988. USP won game one 30-25, game two 30-24, and game three 30-27.

Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/Reisterstown, Md.) led all players with 15 kills, while hitting .279 (15-3-43). The senior outside hitter also had eight digs and one solo block in the three games. Sophomore Andrea Cardine (Reading Central Catholic/ Temple, Pa.) added nine kills and had a key solo block down the stretch in game three. Freshman Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) also had nine kills and recorded four aces and three blocks. Senior Olja Marjanovic (Sr., Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) and sophomore Kayleen Piszczek (So., Holy Name HS/Sinking Spring, Pa.) had 20 assists apiece.

Defensively, the Devils were led by junior Claire Tauschek's (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) 27 digs. Freshman Kaylei DeHart (St. Mark's HS/Wilmington, Del.), in just her second collegiate start added 18 digs while Piszczek chipped in 12. Freshman middle blocker Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) recorded four blocks to lead all players.

Julia Atkins led the Wildcats with six kills while Michelle Boyd added five. Meghan Frick had 15 digs while Cheyann Gilroy and Brittany O'Neill had 12 and 10 respectively. Gilroy and Atkins led the Wildcats with three blocks apiece.

The Wildcats held the early lead in game one before the Devils rallied to take an 11-10 lead after the first service rotation. A 6-2 run by the Devils with Puschak and Piszczek serving boosted the Devils lead to 17-12 before the Wildcats called timeout. Wilmington pulled within three, 18-15 before the wildcats ran off four straight points with Tauschek serving to take a 22-15 lead. The Devils increased their margin to 27-19 before the Wildcats went on a 6-2 run to make the score 29-25. Wilmington's next attack went wide and the Devils had a 30-25 win.

The Devils jumped out to a 4-0 lead in game two only to have the wildcats come back and take a 7-6 lead. USP regained the lead with two straight points and led 13-9 at the end of the first service rotation. Still in control, the Devils boosted their lead to six, 24-18 before Wilmington ran off four straight points to pull within two 24-22. A kill by Cardine made the score 25-22 and Piszczek served four straight points to make the score 29-22 before Wilmington regained the serve off a USP attack error. The Wildcats scored one more point to make the score 29-24 before Tauschek nearly ran into Wenderoth going after a ball on the left side. Tauschek got to the ball, hit it over in between three Wildcat defenders for her only kill of the match to give the Devils a 30-24 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

In game three, the Wildcats led 12-9 after the first service rotation and continued to hold the lead the second rotation, 19-18. A Puschak kill tied the game at 19-19 and the freshman middle hitter followed with two points while serving to give the Devils their first lead since 1-0, 21-19. The Wildcats quickly regained the lead 22-21 before the Devils again ran off three points to lead 24-22. Wilmington made the score 24-23 before a kill by junior Megan Wolfe (Newman Catholic/Rothschild, Wis.) and two more service points from Wenderoth gave the Devils a 27-23 lead. Again the Wildcats battled back to pull within one 27-26, but a key solo block by Cardine put control back into USP's hands with a 28-26 lead. The Wildcats next attack went long to make the score 29-26 before Tauschek served into the net to make the score 29-27. On the next serve, Puschak took a clean set from Piszczek and slammed it home for the point, a 30-27 win and the match.

The Devils return to action on Thursday, October 4, 2007 when they host Bloomfield College at the Bobby Morgan Arena. First serve is at 7 p.m.

Queens Hand Devils a Second Straight Loss (9/29/07)

The Queens College women's volleyball team handed the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia their second straight loss, defeating Devils 3-0 at the Bobby Morgan Arena in Philadelphia Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Knights took the first game 30-24 and followed it with wins of 30-14 and 30-23 to take the match. The loss drops the Devils record to 7-9 overall. Queens improves to 7-6 overall.

Offensively, the Devils were led by senior Olja Marjanovic (Sr., Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) and sophomore Andrea Cardine (Reading Central Catholic/ Temple, Pa.) who recorded five kills apiece. Marjanovic had only five swings and finished the game with a perfect 1.000 kill percentage. Freshman Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) and sophomore Kirsten Lechner (Depaul Catholic/ Wayne, N.J.) each added four kills. Marjanovic also paced the Devils with 13 assists.

On the defensive side, junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) led all players with 16 digs. Freshman Kaylei DeHart (St. Mark's HS/Wilmington, Del.) added nine. Puschak, Marjanovic and freshman Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) had three blocks apiece.

Natalie Edward and Enobong Shammah combined for 23 kills and a kill percentage of .383 to lead the Lady Knights. Edward led Queens with 12 kills and three blocks while Shammah added 11 kills, six blocks - including five solos - and a .417 kill percentage. Shannon Kelly and Milica Mrdak each recorded nine digs. Marianna Megas added 38 assists.

Queens out-killed the Devils 41-25 and recorded nine aces to USP's four. The Devils held the advantage in digs, 52-42 while Queens had nine team blocks to USP's seven.

The Devils are home for their next two matches, both pivotal Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contests as they face Wilmington College on Tuesday, October 2, 2007 and Bloomfield College on Thursday, October 4th. Both matches begin at 7 p.m.

Devils Sweep through Tri-Match (9/22/07)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's volleyball ran their winning streak to three games Saturday afternoon as they recorded a pair of 3-0 victories over Felician College and Chowan University at the Bobby Morgan Arena in Philadelphia.

The two wins even the Devils record at 7-7 overall and the win over Felician improves the Devils record in Central Atlantic Collegiate conference games to 2-2. Felician falls to 0-10 on the season after losing to both USP and Chowan, while Chowan drops to 12-5 with its loss to the Devils.

Freshman Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) led the Devils with 14 kills and seven aces. Puschak made just two attack errors and hit .444 (14-2-27). Freshman middle blocker Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) added eight kills as did junior Megan Wolfe (Newman Catholic/Rothschild, Wis.). Junior libero Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) led the Devils with 25 digs while Wolfe added 10. Rich also had five blocks (one solo). Setters Olja Marjanovic (Sr., Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) and Kayleen Piszczek (So., Holy Name HS/Sinking Spring, Pa.) recorded 19 and 17 assists respectively.

Dee Dee Smith led Felician with 10 kills while Keisha Milstrey added eight. Erica Moore and Amber Doran had 20 and 14 digs respectively. while Laura Peskosky had four blocks (two solo). Nicole Degenhardt set up the Golden Falcon offense with 22 assists.

The Devils opened up a 10-3 lead in the first game and led 17-11 when Puschak served six straight points to increase the Devils lead to double digits, 23-11. Felician forced a sideout and added another point to pull within 10, 23-13 before Piszczek served five more points to give the Devils a 29-13 advantage. Felician forced a sideout to make the score 29-14 before the Devils returned the favor to win 30-14.

In game two the Devils opened leads of 9-3 and 18-5 en route to a 30-12 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third game proved to be the most exciting of the match. Felician jumped out to a 6-3 lead only to have the Devils run off five straight points with freshman Kaylei DeHart (St. Mark's HS/Wilmington, Del.) serving to lead 8-6. The Golden Falcons regained the lead with a 7-3 run to take a two point lead 13-11 and continued to lead, building their margin to three 19-16 before the Devils forced a sideout and sophomore Andrea Cardine (Reading Central Catholic/ Temple, Pa.) served five straight points to make the score 22-19 in favor of the Devils. Felician battled back to tie the score at 24-24 and with Moore serving took a 27-25 lead. USP rallied to even the score at 28-28 and both teams exchanges points over the next nine rallies with Felician holding a 33-32 lead. A sideout tied the score at 33-33. Piszczek followed with two straight points while serving to give the Devils a 35-33 game three win and the match, 3-0.

The Devils followed their win over Felician with a 3-0 win over Chowan, defeating the Hawks, 30-26, 30-23 and 30-14. Puschak again led the way with 12 kills. The freshman middle hitter made just two attack errors while hitting .417 (12-224). Christine added two aces and two blocks. A trio of Devils added seven kills each, led by senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/Reisterstown, Md.). Wolfe made just one attack error in 18 attempts while recording 7 kills for a hitting percentage of .333 while Rich was 7-3-15 for a .267 hitting percentage. Tauschek added 20 digs while Wenderoth and Wolfe joined her in double figures with 14 and 11 respectively. Piszczek and Marjanovic again split the setting duties recording 19 and 16 assists respectively. Rich added six blocks while Marjanovic chipped in three.

Chowan was led by Antoinette McCollough's 13 kills. Kristen Stroud added nine and Adrian Cook five. After recording 18 aces in their earlier match against Felician, the Hawks managed just three against the Devils (Stacey Davis (2) and Christine Wood (1)). Nicole Shoup led Chowan with 10 digs while Cook added five. Jazmin Orozco had three blocks to pace the Hawks.

In the opening game, the Devils jumped out to a 5-1 lead only to have the Hawks battled back an pull within one, 7-6 and eventually take a 12-10 lead. Chowan built the lead to 17-14 forcing a USP timeout. After the timeout the Devils went on a 6-1 run to take a 20-18 lead getting key kills from Wenderoth, Puschak, Rich and Wolfe along the way. The Hawks answered with four straight points to lead 22-20 before Cardine served four straight points as the Devils retook the lead 25-22 forcing a Hawk timeout. Chowan pulled within two 26-24 before the Devils pulled away to win 30-26.

In game two, USP scored the first six points to lead 6-0 and built leads of 11-4 and 17-7 before the Hawks called timeout. A 5-2 Chowan run made the score 19-12. After USP forced a sideout to make the score 20-12, Wolfe served four straight points to give the Devils a 24-12 lead. Chowan's McCollough added a kill and the Devils serve-receive went south as the Hawks rattled off seven straight points to make it a game again 24-18. USP boosted the lead back to nine 27-18 before Chowan battled back again to make the score 27-22. A sideout and a kill by Wenderoth made the score 29-22 before the Hawks forced a sideout to make the score 29-23. On the next volley the Hawk's attack went wide and the Devils had a 30-23 win.

In the third game, USP jumped out to an 8-1 lead and built the margin to 20-8 by the end of the first service rotation. Two Chowan points cut the lead to 20-10 but the Devils gained it right back to lead 23-12. After a sideout, Wenderoth served four straight points to give USP a 28-12 lead. Chowan added two more points to make the score 28-14. USP regained the serve and Tauschek served her second ace of the game to close out the match with a 30-14 win.

Devil Doings: Tauschek recorded her 150th career ace in the Devils match against Felician, moving into second place on the USP all-time list. With 152 aces, Claire now trails all-time leader Breht Mieckowski by 44. Mieckowski recorded 196 aces from 1998-2001.

Devils Snap Losing Streak with Win over Griffins (9/20/07)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's volleyball team snapped their four game losing streak with a 3-0 win over Chestnut Hill College Thursday night at the Bobby Morgan Arena in Philadelphia.

The win improves the Devils record to 5-7 overall and 1-2 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) games. Chestnut Hill falls to 0-3 overall and 0-3 in league games. The Devils recorded wins of 30-15, 30-8 and 30-19 in the three games.

A pair of freshmen led the Devils offensively. Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) had 11 kills on just 13 attack attempts, while Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) recorded eight kills. Puschak hit .769 (11-1-13) while Rich hit .538 (8-1-13). Puschak also had four service aces. Defensively, junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) had ten digs, while senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/Reisterstown, Md.) chipped in nine. Rich also had five blocks (three solo) while Puschak had four (one solo). Senior Olja Marjanovic (Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) had 23 assists and Kayleen Piszczek (Holy Name HS/Sinking Spring, Pa.) added 10.

The Griffins were led by Cheryl Quarles' three kills. Krystina Sisseck added eight digs while Quarles and Lauren Jackson had seven apiece. Caitlin Rickey had five assists.

In the opener, the Devils jumped out to a 5-1 lead and later built the lead to 13-4 on three straight service points from Wenderoth. USP increased their lead to 22-9 and had their largest lead at the end of the game, 30-15.

In the second game, USP scored the first four points before the Griffins batted back to cut the lead in half, 4-2. After a sideout made the score 5-2, USP's Kaylei DeHart (Fr., St. Mark's HS/Wilmington, Del.) served seven straight points and the Devils had a 12-2 lead. The Devils then got three points from Puschak to make the score 16-3 and Tauschek later closed out the first service rotation with six straight points to make the score 26-6. Both teams exchanged side outs and Andrea Cardine (So., Reading Central Catholic/ Temple, Pa.) added two more service points to make the score 29-7. A service error followed to make the score 29-8 but the Devils closed it out as the Griffins next attack went long to end the game and give the Devils a 2-0 lead with a 30-8 win.

Chestnut Hill jumped out to a 3-0 lead and still led 5-3 when the Devils forced a sideout and Puschak served four straight points to give the Devils an 8-5 lead. USP built the lead to five, 14-9 before the Griffins battled back to pull within two 18-16. A sideout made the score 19-16 and Piszczek followed with the longest string of consecutive points on the night, eight, giving the Devils a 27-16 lead and putting the game out of reach. Both teams split the next six points and the Devils completed the three game sweep with a 30-19 win.

The Devils return to action on Saturday, September 22, 2007 when they face Felician College and Chowan University in a tri-match. First serve is set for 12 noon.

Road Trip Proves Futile for Devils (9/17/07)

Two road losses on Saturday extended the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's volleyball team's winless streak to four games as the dropped contests to Southern New Hampshire University and the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The Devils opened the day with a 3-2 loss to Southern New Hampshire and followed it with a 3-0 loss to host Bridgeport. The two losses drop their record to 4-7 overall. USP remains 0-2 in league play.

Against SNHU, the Devils lost the first two games, 30-23 and 30-25 before rebounding to take the next two games 30-25 and 30-26 and force a decisive fifth game. In the fifth game, the Penmen jumped out to an early lead, 4-1 before the Devils rallied to tie the game at 6-6. USP took their first lead of the game 12-11 on a kill by senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/Reisterstown, Md.) and later led 14-12 only to have SNHU come back to take a 15-14 lead. Two straight points by the Devils gave them the lead 16-15 before the Penmen took advantage of a USP service error and followed with two straight kills to win the game 18-16 and the match 3-2.

Wenderoth led the Devils with 16 kills and recorded her first double-double of the season with 11 digs to go along with the kills. Freshmen Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) and Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) had 11 and 12 kills respectively. Puschak also added four aces and four blocks while Rich recorded seven blocks in the match. Juniors Megan Wolfe (Newman Catholic/Rothschild, Wis.) and Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) led USP with 16 and 12 digs respectively. Sophomore Kayleen Piszczek (Holy Name HS/Sinking Spring, Pa.) and senior Olja Marjanovic (Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) split the setting duties with Piszczek recording 21 assists and Marjanovic 16.

USP then faced Bridgeport, losing to the Purple Knights in three straight games, 30-23, 30-20 and 30-21.

In the first game the Devils jumped out to a 7-2 lead and still led 14-10 when UB went on a 6-2 run to tie the game at 16-16. After a kill by sophomore Kirsten Lechner (Depaul Catholic/ Wayne, N.J.) gave the Devils a 17-16 lead, the Purple Knights scored three straight points to take a 19-17 lead. Another kill by Lechner made it 19-18 but this was as close as the Devils would come as Bridgeport ran off five straight points to take a 24-18 lead en route to the 30-23 win.

Bridgeport led wire-to-wire in the final two games with the Devils managing to tie the score early in each game only to have the Purple Knight string together a series of points to maintain their advantage. The Devils got as close as 13-11 in game two only have UB score five straight points to take an 18-11 lead before settling in for a 30-21 win. In the final game, the Devils trailed 13-9 before the Purple Knights again went on a five point run to put the devils in a big hole 18-9 before cruising to the 30-20 win.

Wenderoth again led the Devils with seven kills. Tauschek had 11 digs while Wenderoth chipped in 10. Marjanovic paced the Devils with 10 assists. As a team the Devils had their lowest single match attack percentage on the season, -.009 (23-24-111) as Bridgeport held the advantage in kills, 42-23, aces 8-2; and blocks 11-2.

The Devils return to action on Thursday, September 20, 2007 when they take on Chestnut Hill College in a CACC matchup at the Bobby Morgan Arena. First serve is at 7:00 p.m.

Devils Lose Second Straight Match (9/14/07)

Philadelphia University handed the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's volleyball team their second consecutive loss, defeating the Devils 3-0 at the Bobby Morgan Arena on USP's campus.

The Rams took the first game, 30-24 and followed it with a 30-21 win in game two. USP fought hard in the third and final game before falling 30-28. The loss drops the Devils record to 4-6 overall and 0-2 in league play.

Freshman Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) led the Devils with 13 kills, hitting .292 (13-6-24). Junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) had 25 digs and senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/ Reisterstown, Md.) added 21. Sophomore Andrea Cardine (So., Reading Central Catholic/ Temple, Pa.) chipped in 13 digs while Kayleen Piszczek (Holy Name HS/Sinking Spring, Pa.) set the offense for USP, recording 38 assists.

The Rams were led by Nicole Berkstresser and Emily Krauss who recorded 12 kills each. Krauss added 15 digs to record a double-double. Celena Rendon also had a double-double with 10 kills and 14 digs. Cassandra Peck led the Rams with 18 digs. Berkstresser also had four blocks and Lauren Hoover recorded 38 assists.

The Devils return to action on Saturday when they travel to Bridgeport, Connecticut to take on Southern New Hampshire University and the University of Bridgeport in a tri-match starting at 3:00 p.m.

Tigers Hand Devils First CACC Loss of Season (9/12/07)

Holy Family University came into the Bobby Morgan Arena for last night's CACC women's volleyball matchup against the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia without a win on the season. The Devils however put an end to their winless streak as the Tigers pulled off a 3-1 win.

The win drops the Devils to 4-4 overall and 0-1 in CACC games. Holy Family improved to 1-10 overall and 1-0 in league play.

Holy Family took the first two games, 30-28 and 32-30 to put the Devils in a must-win situation. USP came through with a 30-25 win in game through to prolong the match. The Tigers however, used a 7-0 run midway through game four to propel themselves to a 30-25 game four win to take the match, three games to one.

Senior Olja Marjanovic (Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) led the Devils with 15 kills, hitting .323 (15-5-31) along the way. Freshmen Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) and Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) added 11 kills each. Defensively, the Devils had four players in double figures in digs, with sophomore Kirsten Lechner (Depaul Catholic/ Wayne, N.J.) leading the way with 23. junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) added 22 while senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/Reisterstown, Md.) had 14 digs. Sophomore setter Kayleen Piszczek (Holy Name HS/Sinking Spring, Pa.) added 10 digs to go along with 13 assists. Ladonna Landmesser (Archbishop Prendergast HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.) had 33 assists to lead the Devils.

The Tigers were paced by the trio of Lauren Gosnell, Jennifer O'Connor and Mallory Lennon. Gosnell had 18 kills while O'Connor and Lennon added 16 and 15 respectively. Lennon also delivered four aces and four blocks on the evening. Maria Scherrer had 22 digs for Holy Family while O'Connor and Aimee Drabyn added 12 and 11 apiece. Gosnell and Brittany LaCouture led the Tigers with five blocks apiece.

The Devils return to action on Thursday, September 13, 2007 when they host Philadelphia University in a CACC matchup starting at 7:00 p.m.

Devils Taken to the Limit as they go Undefeated in Devils Classic (9/9/07)

Southern Connecticut State University and American International College took the USP women's volleyball team to five games in their respective matches on Saturday at the Devils Classic before succumbing to the Devils attack. The two wins enabled the Devils to record a perfect 3-0 record in the tournament.

With the three wins the Devils improve their record to 4-3 overall. USP freshman Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) and junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) were voted onto the All-Tournment team by the participating coaches, with Puschak garnering Most Valuable Player honors. For the three games, Puschak recorded 41 kills in 89 attempts for a .326 attack percentage. Christine also had 10 service aces 13 blocks. Tauschek averaged 5.38 digs per game (70 in 13 games) to go along with nine service aces.

Against the Owls of SCSU, the Devils took the first game, 30-24 with a trio of Devils, senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/Reisterstown, Md.), and freshmen Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) and Puschak recording 11 of the Devils 12 kills in the game. SCSU took the next two games, 32-30 and 30-20 to push the USP to the brink.

The Devils fought back to take game four, 30-25 to force a fifth and deciding game. In the fifth game, both teams exchanged points early before the Owls ran off three points to take a 5-3 lead. USP battled back to tie the game at 5-5 only to have SCSU score two more points and take a 7-5 lead. The Devils then retook the lead with three straight points, 8-7, but later fell behind again 12-10. After USP forced a sideout to pull within one, 12-11, sophomore Kirsten Lechner (Depaul Catholic/ Wayne, N.J.) served three straight points and USP now had a 14-12 lead. On the next volley the Devils thought they won the game but were called for having a player in the net, giving the serve back to the Owls and making the score 14-13. Wenderoth landed a kill on the next volley, giving the Devils the game, 15-13 and the match 3-2.

Four USP players recorded 10 or more kills, led by Wenderoth's 15. Rich, Puschak and Lechner added 11 apiece .Puschak also recorded six aces and had six blocks. Tauschek recorded 30 digs for the second time this season to help pace the Devils defense. Wenderoth added 22 digs and Lechner 13. Andrea Cardine (So., Reading Central Catholic/Temple, Pa.) contributed ten digs to the Devils total of 85. Sophomore setter Kayleen Piszczek (Holy Name HS/Sinking Spring, Pa.) set the offense for the Devils recording 50 assists, equaling the third highest total for a five-game match in USP history and the eighth highest total in any USP volleyball match. Piszczek becomes just the second volleyball player in school history to record 50 assists in a match, joining her teammate Ladonna Landmesser (Sr., Archbishop Prendergast HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.).

The Devils opened play on the day with a 3-2 win over American International. USP took the first game, 30-23 before losing games two and three 30-28 and 30-27. Trailing two games to one, the Devils knotted the match at 2-2 with a 30-28 game four win. In the fifth and final game, the Devils took the lead midway through the game and never looked back as they pulled out a 16-14 win to take the match.

Puschak led all players with a career-high 21 kills. Rich added 13 while Cardine chipped in 11 kills with just one error (11-1-25, .400). Tauschek again led the Devils with 24 digs, while Wenderoth and Lechner added 18 and 14 respectively. Landmesser recorded 38 assists while Piszczek chipped in 19. Rich also had eight blocks (four solo).

USP opened the tournament on Friday night with a 3-0 win over Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference rival Caldwell College. The Devils took the first game 30-11 and won games two and three by identical 30-16 scores.

Puschak led the Devils with nine kills and four blocks. Tauschek had 16 digs while Wenderoth and Lechner added 12 and 11 respectively.

The Devils return to action on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 as they open CACC play with a match against Holy Family University.

Devils Split a Pair Matches in Day Two at Shippensburg (9/4/07)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's volleyball team split a pair of matches on Saturday at the Raider Classic Volleyball Tournament hosted by Shippensburg University, defeating Davis and Elkins College before losing to Clarion University.

With the split the Devils finished the weekend with a 1-3 record.

Against Davis and Elkins the Devils took the first two games, 30-27 and 30-18 before dropping game three 30-16. USP rebounded to take the match, 3-1, with a 30-28 game four win. A pair of freshmen, Cady Rich (Shelton HS/Shelton, Conn.) and Christine Puschak (Conestoga Valley HS/ Leola, Pa.) led the Devils with 17 and 15 kills respectively. Junior Claire Tauschek (Middleton HS/ Verona, Wis.) had 31 digs while senior Lindsey Wenderoth (Owings Mills HS/Reisterstown, Md.) had 28. Rich and Puschak also combined for nine blocks. Senior Ladonna Landmesser (Archbishop Prendergast HS/Drexel Hill, Pa.) set up the USP offense with 40 assists. Sophomore Andrea Cardine (Reading Central Catholic/Temple, Pa.) had three service aces.

USP closed out the tournament with a 3-0 loss to Clarion University, losing 30-15, 30-15 and 30-24. Puschak paced the Devils with 13 kills while Rich added 10. Tauschek and Wenderoth again paced the defensive effort with 21 and 18 digs respectively while Landmesser dished out 20 assists.

The Devils opened the tournament on Friday with a pair of 3-1 losses to Millersville University and College of St. Rose. Millersville took the first two games 30-21 and 30-15 before the Devils rebounded to take game three 30-20. The Marauders then closed out the match, winning game four 30-26.

Puschak was the only player to reach double-digits in kills with 16. defensively, USP had four players with 10 or more digs, led by Tauschek's 27. Sophomore Kirsten Lechner (Depaul Catholic/ Wayne, N.J.) added 17 while Wenderoth chipped in 15. Landmesser added 13 digs to go along with her 31 assists. Tauschek also had five service aces in the match while Wenderoth and Puschak each had three.

Like Millersville, St. Rose took the first two games of the match, 30-19 and 30-16 before the Devils rebounded to force a fourth game with a 30-28 game three win. St. Rose then took game four 30-23 to close out the match. Rich led the Devils with nine kills. Cardine paced the Devils with 21 digs while Wenderoth and Tauschek chipped in 19 and 18 digs respectively. Senior Olja Marjanovic (Chaminade-Madonna Prep/North Miami Beach, Fla.) had six blocks (two solo) as did Puschak. Landmesser had 23 assists to set up the Devils offense.

Tauschek finished with nine aces over the weekend to move into a tie for third place on the Devils all-time service ace list with 135. Claire needs 62 more aces to become USP's all-time leader. Both Tauschek and Wenderoth recorded their 1,100th career dig over the weekend. Tauschek (1,163) and Wenderoth (1,106) rank second and third respectively on the Devils all-time list.

The Devils return to action on Friday when they kick off their own Devils Classic with a 5:30 match against Caldwell College at the Bobby Morgan Arena.