Lions Top Hawks for Second AMCC Win
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team battled past visiting Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference foe Hilbert College on Saturday afternoon, as the Lions secured their second conference win of the season with a 3-1 victory over the Hawks in Adler Arena.
Penn State Altoona (11-9, 2-0 AMCC) won the opening set 25-20, but Hilbert (2-15, 0-2 AMCC) responded with a 25-23 victory in the second set to even the match score at one set apiece. However, the Lions regrouped and won the third and fourth sets by scores of 25-15 and 25-16 to seal the match.
Anna Batrus (Altoona, PA/Altoona) reached a career milestone for Penn State Altoona, surpassing the 1,000 digs mark with the Lions. Batrus led all players in Saturday's match with 29 digs.
Taylor Myers (Morrisdale, PA/West Branch) scored a match-high 13 points on 10 kills and three service aces. Maggie Brewer (NuMine, PA/West Shamokin) and Ella Hadley (Spring Mills, PA/Penns Valley) had 11 points apiece, with Brewer totaling 11 kills and Hadley contributing 10 kills and an ace.
Makenna Port (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) had 10 points on nine kills and a solo block, Lia Simanski (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) recorded nine points on nine kills, and Jadeyn Price (Altoona, PA/Altoona) scored five points on five kills.
Julia Emel (Woodward, PA/Penns Valley) put up a match-high 27 assists, and Madelyn Rockwell (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) added 16 assists.
Helped by five service aces, Hilbert started the first set by establishing a 9-4 lead. But Penn State Altoona surged ahead with a 6-0 run, including kills from Port, Price, and Hadley, to jump in front, 10-9. The Lions widened their lead to six points on a Port block that made it 21-15, but the Hawks were able to trim their deficit to two, 21-19. Penn State Altoona scored the next two points on Hilbert errors, and kills from Price and Myers ultimately gave the Lions a 25-20 victory.
In the second set, Hilbert again started with an early lead, but the Hawks were able to nurse it to the finish line. Down 20-15, a Brewer kill and three Hilbert errors got the Lions back to within two, 21-19. Two Hilbert points later, Penn State Altoona reeled off four straight points on two Hawk attack errors, a Myers ace, and a Port kill to tie the score at 23-23. But the Hawks scored a kill and ace to take the second set, 25-23, and knot the match at 1-1.
Penn State Altoona bounced back in a big way in the third set, as the Lions got off to an 11-4 lead, including getting kills from Hadley, Myers, Simanski, Brewer, and Port. Later, a Batrus ace and back-to-back kills from Hadley and Price increased Penn State Altoona's advantage to nine, 16-7. A five-point run late in the set that included a pair of kills from both Simanski and Port boosted the Lions' lead to 10 points, 23-13, and a Simanski kill scored the 25th point of the set for the home team, which prevailed 25-15.
The Lions were able to establish another strong lead early in the fourth set, when kills from Myers, Hadley, and Brewer helped Penn State Altoona open the set on a 6-0 run. Midway through the set, kills from Simanski, Port, Price, and Rockwell put the Penn State Altoona lead at 14-6, and a Brewer kill later kept the difference at eight points, 20-12. Brewer scored two more kills, and a Myers ace got Penn State Altoona to set point, 24-14. After two Hilbert points, a service error by the Hawks ended the set at 25-16, clinching the match win for the Lions.
Next up, Penn State Altoona women's volleyball will travel to Erie next Saturday, October 19, for a tri-match hosted by AMCC opponent Penn State Behrend. The Lions will face Behrend at 12 p.m. in a conference match, before going up against non-conference opponent The College of Wooster at 2:30 p.m. to finish the day.
