by Casey Burinskas

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team faced off against Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent La Roche University on Tuesday night in the Kerr Center.

Penn State Altoona (12-10, 7-1 AMCC) pulled out a 3-1 road win against La Roche (15-9, 5-3 AMCC) in four sets, coming back from a 25-17 loss in the first set to win the next three by scores of 25-19, 25-21, and 25-18.

The Lions' Lacee Barnhart (Bellefonte, PA/Bald Eagle) racked up a team-leading total of 11 kills to help Penn State Altoona pull ahead in points. Makenna Port (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) was a close second in kills with nine, and she finished with a team-high five total blocks. 

Julia Emel (Woodward, PA/Penns Valley) had 19 assists, while Abigail Brinker (Lock Haven, PA/PHAA) was able to provide a total of 18 assists through the four sets.

Anna Batrus (Altoona, PA/Altoona) finished with a match-high 27 digs. 

In the first set, Penn State Altoona started off with a lead of 4-0 against the Redhawks, beginning with a kill from Karlie Feathers (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) and a service ace from Barnhart. The Hawks were quick to tie the game 6-6, and the Lions trailed the Redhawks for the rest of the set. La Roche carried on and took off on a run of seven points, eventually having the set end 25-17, Redhawks. 

Starting the second set, La Roche took a 10-5 lead, but the Lions worked their way back into the set. The battle back and forth with the Redhawks continued point by point, until the Lions started to pull away. Penn State Altoona was able to claim the lead with a six-point run, going up 17-15. Later in the set, Penn State Altoona racked up more points, including two kills from Taylor Myers (Morrisdale, PA/West Branch). The Lions continued the set by making it a 24-18 lead with a block from Port and Feathers, and Penn State Altoona got a kill by Port, ending the set with a 25-19 win.

Penn State Altoona and La Roche stayed hand in hand with each other for most of the third set. La Roche started off with the lead, but the Lions were able to tie with an ace from Lia Simanski (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle). With the score at 10-10, Penn State Altoona took the lead and never looked back. Kills flooded in from Barnhart, Myers, and Port. The Lions were able to pull away for the win in the third set by a score of 25-21.

Penn State Altoona and La Roche continued to battle it out in the fourth set. The Lions got on the board early with a strong kill from Feathers. Points rallied back and forth, until the Lions found their footing and continued to rack up four and five points in a row. Simanski, Feathers, and Port were able to keep the Lions ahead, and the team ended the set with a total of 17 kills and allowed Penn State Altoona to pull out a 25-18 win. 

Next up, the Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team will face AMCC opponent Wells College at 1 p.m. this Saturday, November 4.