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Photo (by Joel Nelson): Penn State Altoona's Lauren Moran (left) and Josie Stovall (right) go up for a block at the net during Saturday's match against Hilbert College in the Adler Arena.
Photo (by Joel Nelson): Penn State Altoona's Lauren Moran (left) and Josie Stovall (right) go up for a block at the net during Saturday's match against Hilbert College in the Adler Arena.

Lady Lions Sweep Hilbert 3-0 to Clinch Regular Season Title

ALTOONA, Pa. - Penn State Altoona women's volleyball cruised to a 3-0 win over Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Hilbert College on Saturday afternoon in the Adler Arena.

With the victory, the Lady Lions (13-12, 7-2 AMCC) clinched the AMCC regular season championship. As the top team in the regular season standings, Penn State Altoona gets the number one seed in the upcoming postseason tournament and will host the AMCC playoffs on Saturday, November 4 and Sunday, November 5.

The AMCC Tournament will get underway at 2:00 p.m. next Saturday, with Penn State Altoona facing the winner of Wednesday night's match between #4 La Roche College and #5 D'Youville College. At 4:30 p.m., #2 Pitt-Bradford will play the winner of Wednesday's matchup between #3 Penn State Behrend and #6 Mount Aloysius College. The AMCC championship match will occur next Sunday at 1:00 p.m. All three of the weekend's matches will be hosted in Penn State Altoona's Adler Arena.

Penn State Altoona took care of Hilbert (1-22, 0-9 AMCC) in Saturday's match by scores of 25-17, 25-18, and 25-13.

Lauren Diller (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg) and Josie Stovall (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) tied for the match-high in kills, amassing 13 kills each. Diller also posted 19 digs, while Stovall contributed three service aces.

Lauren Moran (Johnstown, PA/Westmont Hilltop) led all players with 17 set assists, and Emily Bryan (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro) added 14 assists. Kaitlin Cassaday (Bel Air, MD/Bel Air) totaled 11 digs to go along with one solo block.

Penn State Altoona was able to maintain a modest lead throughout the first set, en route to an eight-point victory in the match opener. An early five-point run that included two kills from Stovall, one from Velanna Skripek (Moshannon, PA/Bald Eagle), an ace from Cassaday, and an attack error by Hilbert helped the home team to an 11-4 lead. Diller tallied two kills in her team's final three points to help her squad grab the first set.

Hilbert started the second set with aces from Torianna LeWand and a kill by Maegann Mein to take a 3-0 lead. Later, with the Lady Hawks ahead 12-11, Penn State Altoona reeled off five straight points to take the lead. The Lady Lions capitalized on Hilbert miscues to win the set, as nine of Penn State Altoona's final 14 points came courtesy of Hilbert errors.

In the third set, the Lady Lions jumped out to a 9-3 lead, prompting a Hilbert timeout. Penn State Altoona held a comfortable advantage throughout the set, and the Lady Lions scored the final five points thanks to two aces and a kill from Stovall along with two Hilbert attack errors.

Next up, the Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team will start its quest for a third AMCC championship. The Lady Lions' first place finish in the standings marks the third time in the past four seasons that the team has clinched the AMCC's regular season championship.