Nov 15, 2009 By The 5 min read

California (Pa.) swept to its third-straight PSAC volleyball championship and the automatic berth into the NCAA Division II playoffs Saturday with a 3-0 victory at Lock Haven. The Vulcans won by the scores 25-21, 26-24, and 25-19.

California improves to 33-5 and is expected to host the NCAA Atlantic Regional when the tournament pairings are announced. Lock Haven had its 24-match winning streak halted, slipping to 30-5 overall.

Renata da Silva was named the PSAC Tournament MVP after averaging 11.8 assists per set, including 39 against Lock Haven in the title match.

California’s Joanna Nist led with 14 kills with Bridget Bielich finishing with 12 and Ludmila Amaral adding eight. Amaral also had four blocks. Julie Paronish had a strong defensive effort with 10 digs.

College football

Washington & Jefferson 35, Waynesburg 12 – Waynesburg quarterback Brad Dawson set a single-season passing yardage record, but the Presidents had too much offense to win the Presidents’ Athletic Conference regular season finale.

Presidents quarterback Gino Rometo had three touchdown passes, including a pair to Jordan Roycroft. Craig Besong caught Rometo’s other touchdown toss, while Jacob McBride and Terrence McAllister powered in for short rushing touchdowns.

Dawson spotted the Yellow Jackets the early lead when he connected with Zach Fatigante for a 6-yard touchdown pass with 4:47 remaining in the first quarter. Dawson completed 18-of-35 passes for 237 yards, pushing his season total to 2,718 yards. He also threw three interceptions.

Jon Storck missed his lone extra-point attempt, but connected on field goals of 22 and 35 yards.

Jamelle Bowers and Jefferson-Morgan graduate Justin Falcon shared rushing honors for Waynesburg with 43 yards apiece. Josh Fisher and Fatigante both caught five passes with Fisher finishing with 89 yards and Fatigante 44.

Waynesburg Central grad Troy Cree led the Waynesburg defense with a game-high 14 tackles.

Rometo completed 27-of-36 passes for a season-high 310 yards with one interception. Besong was his favorite target with 11 receptions for 114 yards. Roycroft also had a strong game with six receptions for 112 yards.

The Presidents finished with 489 yards and 26 first downs, while the Yellow Jackets totaled 329 yards and 16 first downs, becoming the first team to gain more than 300 yards against the W&J defense this season.

Washington & Jefferson finishes with a 5-1 conference record and 9-1 overall mark, and is alive for an at-large bid for the NCAA Division III playoffs to be announced today at 3 p.m. Waynesburg finishes the season with a 2-4 record in the PAC and a 5-5 overall record.

Bethany (W.Va.) 34, Saint Vincent 13 – Brownsville grad J.J. Stoken sparked the Bison with a 69-yard interception return and Laurel Highlands graduate Dan Pegg made good on the turnover with a touchdown pass to lead the visitors to season-finale victory over the Bearcats.

Facing a fourth-and-4 at the Saint Vincent 16, Pegg found Jorge Laboy open for a 16-yard touchdown pass for a 6-0 lead.

After forcing a Bearcat safety, Pegg led the Bison on an eight-play, 60-yard scoring drive by completing five passes, including completion of 22 and 21 yards. The Bison (3-7) scored with just 21 seconds remaining in the first half when Pegg connected on a 37-yard scoring strike to Matt Cruse.

Pegg kept finding receivers open in the second half, finding Ed Holmes open for a 50-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Pegg scored on a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter, giving him a hand in four Bison touchdowns.

Pegg completed 29-of-41 passes for 341 yards. His 29 completions were the fourth-highest one-game total in Bethany history with his 341 yards the ninth-most. Holmes caught seven passes for 72 yards, while Cruse had a record-setting game with a game-high 113 yards on five passes.

Stoken finished with six tackles. Waynesburg Central grad Nelson Mitzen was involved in seven tackles with former Raider teammate Tim Stefanizzi in two tackles, including a sack. Mapletown graduate Brad Hartley finished five tackles.

The Bearcats finished with a 0-10 mark.

College wrestling

Waynesburg 20, Shippensburg 15 – The Yellow Jackets pulled out to a 14-0 lead Friday night, and preserved the victory when Waynesburg Central graduate Corbin Semple won by fall at 184 pounds for a non-conference victory over the visiting Raiders.

Rico Borz opened the match with a 10-2 major decision, and freshman Brandon Grainy kept the momentum going with a 6-2 decision.

Waynesburg Central’s Nick Garber secured a 15-4 major decision, and Jesse Byerly made it 14-0 with an 8-6 win at 149 pounds.

Women’s soccer

California (Pa.) 1, West Virginia Wesleyan 0 – California won its first post-season game in the program’s history Friday, advancing the 23rd-ranked Vulcans into the second round of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional.

California (17-5-1) hosta Kutztown today at 1 p.m. in the second round of the regional. Kutztown defeated the Vulcans in the conference semifinals last week, 1-0.

Amanda Heister, the PSAC-West Athlete of the Year, scored the match’s lone goal in the 17th minute off an assist from Sam Regney. Heister now has the all-time record with 105 career points, surpassing Sherry Valera, and is one goal short of Valera’s record of 19 goals.

California keeper Paula Jackson secured her 11th shutout of the season with four saves.

Men’s basketball

Point Park 102, Notre Dame (Ohio) 64 – Uniontown grad Eric Johnson scored 17 points off the bench to help the Pioneers to a non-conference road victory.