Lions Power Past Penn College, 3-0
ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona women's volleyball snapped its three-match skid on Friday evening, when the Lions swept non-conference opponent Penn College 3-0 in Adler Arena.
Penn State Altoona (4-7) nabbed its second home victory of the season, taking care of Penn College (3-6) in three sets by scores of 25-12, 25-13, and 25-12.
The Lions' Lia Simanski (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) totaled a match-high 12 points on 12 kills while chipping in eight digs. Lacee Barnhart (Bellefonte, PA/Bald Eagle) recorded eight points on six digs and two service aces, and she also finished with 17 digs. Karlie Feathers (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) had seven points on six kills and a pair of block assists.
Julia Emel (Woodward, PA/Penns Valley) led all players in the match with 13 assists, while Gabriella Serra (Queens, NY/Benjamin Cardozo) and Abigail Brinker (Lock Haven, PA/PHAA) tallied nine and six assists, respectively. Serra also finished with a match-high three service aces.
Anna Batrus (Altoona, PA/Altoona) posted a match-high 18 digs to go along with five assists and two aces.
Taylor Myers (Morrisdale, PA/West Branch) had a match-best four total blocks, recording three block assists and one solo block. Makenna Port (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) had one solo block and one block assist.
Penn State Altoona finished the match with a season-high .202 attack percentage as a team.
The Lions got off to a dominant start, swinging at a .333 attack percentage during the first set while also taking advantage of 10 hitting errors by Penn College. Penn State Altoona started the set by grabbing a 6-1 lead, including getting a block from Port and Feathers, an ace from Barnhart, and a kill by Feathers during that span. Back-to-back kills from Simanski boosted the Lions to a 14-4 lead, and the home team grew its advantage to as high as 13 points, 17-4. Penn State Altoona closed the set by recording four straight kills, getting two from Barnhart and one apiece from Simanski and Morgan Fussell (Blairsville, GA/Union County) to win 25-12.
Penn State Altoona carried its momentum into the second set, when the Lions started by scoring the first eight points. Kills from Fussell, Myers, and Feathers helped the home squad increase its lead to 12 points, 20-8. Later, Barnhart and Feathers scored kills for Penn State Altoona, and the Lions reeled off three straight points to end the set at 25-13, using a service error, a Serra ace, and a Baileigh Mount (Macungie, PA/Emmaus) kill to close things out.
The Lions ran up another big lead in the third set to win it in comfortable fashion. Three kills by Port early in the set helped Penn State Altoona work its way out to a 9-3 advantage, and kills from Simanski, Myers, and Jadeyn Price (Altoona, PA/Altoona) got their team's lead to 17-6. Ahead 20-12, Penn State Altoona went on another late-set run by scoring five in a row to wrap up the match. The Lions got three kills courtesy of Barnhart, Feathers, and Jillian Taylor (Irvona, PA/Glendale) and another ace from Serra, while a Penn College attack error provided the winning point to finish the set at 25-12.
Women's volleyball returns to the road for its next match, as the Lions will travel east to take on non-conference opponent Gettysburg College on Wednesday, September 27 at 7 p.m.
