by McKenzie Quirin

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Penn State Altoona women's volleyball had its three-match winning streak snapped on Tuesday night in a 3-0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-16) loss to Geneva College at Metheny Fieldhouse.

Lacee Barnhart (Bellefonte, PA/Bald Eagle) led the Lions with 10 points on 10 kills while adding 18 digs. Karlie Feathers (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) contributed 6.5 points on four kills, one solo block, and one block assist, and Morgan Fussell (Blairsville, GA/Union County) had 6.0 points on 6 kills.

Gabriella Serra (Queens, NY/Benjamin Cardozo) totaled 14 assists and 21 digs.

Anna Batrus (Altoona, PA/Altoona) tallied a team-high 24 digs, and Abigail Brinker (Lock Haven, PA/PHAA) added six digs while Lia Simanski (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) had nine digs.

In the first set, Barnhart's kill from Serra gave the Lions their first point. After Geneva jumped ahead 10-4, the Lions' Barnhart had another kill from Serra. Fussell's kill got the score to 11-6, but Geneva began to take charge. Barnhart's third kill of the night helped the Lions cut the deficit to 16-8. Makenna Port's (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) kill got the Lions to a 17-10 score before Geneva expanded their lead to 20-11. Barnhart followed with another kill, and the Lions rode a wave of momentum to cut their deficit to two points, 22-20. But Geneva ultimately got the next three points to win the set 25-20.

In the second set, Penn State Altoona worked its way out to a 12-6 lead, only to see Geneva come back and tie the score at 16 apiece. The Lions scored the next three points to take a 19-16 lead, but the Golden Tornadoes went on a 6-0 run jump back in front, 22-19. Penn State Altoona fought back, and the teams found later found themselves at a 24-24 tie. Feathers and Taylor Myers (Morrisdale, PA/West Branch) teamed up on a block to get the Lions to set point, 25-24. But, out of a timeout, Geneva scored three straight points to win the set 27-25.

In the third set, Geneva found rhythm offensively. With the score tied 4-4 early, the Golden Tornadoes grabbed the lead and expanded it throughout the set, leading by as many as 10 points. Geneva took the third set by a 25-16 score to win the match.

The Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team heads back on the road this Thursday, September 14 to play against Elizabethtown College. The match is set to start at 7:00 p.m.