SANDUSKY, Ohio – The Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team got its 2024 season started on Friday, competing in day one of the Great Lakes Cross Over, hosted by Heidelberg University at the Cedar Point Sports Complex.

Penn State Altoona (1-1) lost its first match, falling 3-2 in a hard-fought five-setter with St. Mary's College (IN). But the Lions bounced back in their second and final match of the day, sweeping Kenyon College 3-0 to get into the win column.

Match One: St. Mary's 3, Penn State Altoona 2

The Lions began their 2024 schedule with a back-and-forth match against St. Mary's (1-0), which ultimately pulled out the victory. The Belles won the first set 25-22 before Penn State Altoona answered with a 26-24 win in the second. St. Mary's struck back with a 25-21 victory in the third, but the Lions stayed alive with a 25-14 triumph in the fourth. But the Belles had the last word, taking the fifth set 15-8.

Five different Lion players finished in double figures in points.

Ella Hadley (Spring Mills, PA/Penns Valley) had a team-high 14.5 points, recording 13 kills, one service ace, and one block assist to go along with 19 digs. Lia Simanski (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) posted 14 points on 13 kills and an ace, and she accumulated 15 digs.

Taylor Myers (Morrisdale, PA/West Branch) finished with 12.5 points on 10 kills, two aces, and a block assist. Maggie Brewer (NuMine, PA/West Shamokin) totaled 11 points on 10 kills and a pair of block assists, and Makenna Port (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) recorded 10.5 points on seven kills, three block assists, and two solo blocks. Jadeyn Price (Altoona, PA/Altoona) added 7.5 points on seven kills and a block assist.

Julia Emel (Woodward, PA/Penns Valley) and Madelyn Rockwell (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) split the setting duties, with Emel notching 22 assists and adding 10 digs and Rockwell putting up 21 assists while chipping in eight digs and two aces.

Anna Batrus (Altoona, PA/Altoona) totaled a team-high 22 digs and also tallied nine assists.

After dropping the first set, Penn State Altoona came from behind in the second set to win it. Trailing 20-18, the Lions turned the tables on St. Mary's with a 6-1 run that included a Hadley kill and Simanski ace, giving Penn State Altoona a 24-21 lead. The Belles reeled off three straight points to tie the score, but back-to-back kills from Price and Hadley gave the Lions a 26-24 victory.

St. Mary's prevailed in the third set to reclaim its match lead, but Penn State Altoona posted a commanding win in the fourth set. Kills from Myers and Simanski helped the Lions get out to a 4-0 advantage, and a 5-0 Penn State Altoona run later in the set made it 14-5. A Myers kill gave her team a 10-point lead, 19-9, and a pair of St. Mary's errors later ended the set at 25-14.

But the Belles pulled out a win in the fifth set, turning a 10-8 lead into a 15-8 victory, thanks to a set-finishing 5-0 run.

Match Two: Penn State Altoona 3, Kenyon 0

After its match one loss, Penn State Altoona responded with a sweep of Kenyon (0-1) to finish the day. The Lions rattled off set victories of 25-14, 27-25, and 25-21 to handle the Owls.

Simanski led all players in the match with 12 points on 10 kills and two aces, while Myers recorded 11 points on eight kills and three aces. Price totaled seven points on seven kills, and Brewer had six points with five kills and a solo block.

Rockwell had a team-best 18 assists while adding nine digs and two aces, and Emel earned 16 assists with seven digs.

Batrus totaled a match-high 20 digs.

In the first set, Penn State Altoona used a late run to break the game open. Holding a 12-11 lead, the Lions outscored Kenyon 13-3 the rest of the way to prevail. Four of Penn State Altoona's final five points came courtesy of kills, with Hadley dropping two and Myers and Simanski adding one apiece.

Kenyon led by as many as eight points during the second set, but Penn State Altoona stormed back to tie the score at 23-23. The teams traded points over the next several plays, but with a 26-25 advantage, the Lions won the set on a Price kill.

Penn State Altoona nabbed the victory in a closely contested third set. Kenyon held a modest lead in the early stages of the set, but Penn State Altoona jumped in front and secured a six-point advantage, 17-11. Holding a 21-20 lead, the Lions scored three straight points on a Kenyon error, a Myers ace, and a Simanski kill to get to set point. After a Kenyon point, Port put the finishing touches on the match with a kill to clinch Penn State Altoona's first victory of the season.

Penn State Altoona women's volleyball competes in day two of the Great Lakes Cross Over tomorrow, Saturday, August 31. The Lions will take on The University of Olivet at 10 a.m. to begin the day, then wrap the weekend up against Kalamazoo College at 2 p.m.