by Casey Burinskas

WINCHESTER, Va. – On Friday evening, the Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team faced off against McDaniel College in the opening night of the Shenandoah University Invitational at the Wilkins Center.

Penn State Altoona (2-4) fell 3-2 in the match, taking its fourth loss of the season. McDaniel (1-1) won the first two sets by scores of 25-21 and 26-24, before the Lions battled back to win the next two, 25-17 and 30-28. But the Green Terror rallied in the fifth set to win it 15-13 and take the match.

Leading all players in the match in points and kills was Lia Simanski (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle), who held a total of 17.5 points and 16 kills while also having a team-high 18 digs. She was followed by Makenna Port (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte), who put in 13 kills and finished with 15.5 points, adding five block assists.

Taylor Myers (Morrisdale, PA/West Branch) had 12.5 points on a match-high six service aces to go along with five kills and three block assists. Ella Hadley (Spring Mills, PA/Penns Valley) contributed 11.5 points on nine kills and three block assists, and she totaled 12 digs.

Madelyn Rockwell (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) had a match-high 24 assists, and Julia Emel (Woodward, PA/Penns Valley) totaled 22 assists.

Anna Batrus (Altoona, PA/Altoona) recorded 15 digs.

Starting off the first set, the Lions came into the match ready to play, placing the first six points on the board. Multiple attack errors coming from McDaniel helped land Penn State Altoona some points, but two service aces falling from Myers got the Lions six points ahead. Continuing on into the set, a kill from Simanski put her team ahead 11-6. But despite the Lions' strong start, the Green Terror stormed back to take the lead. A kill from Batrus was among the last points of the set, before McDaniel ultimately won 25-21.

The second set started off strong once again for Penn State Altoona, with kills from Port and Maggie Brewer (NuMine, PA/West Shamokin) and a service ace from Myers putting the Lions ahead 4-0. Penn State Altoona pulled even further ahead, as kills from Simanski and Hadley and attack errors from McDaniel put the Lions up by six, 11-5. Coming into the second half of the set, the Lions tried to hold onto the lead, but it started to slip away as points began to fall in for McDaniel. The Lions responded with late kills from Hadley, Port, and Batrus, but the neck-and-neck set ended at 26-24 in favor of McDaniel.

Beginning the third set, points were bounced back and forth. A service ace from Simanski, a kill from Hadley, and a Green Terror attack error helped start the Lions off with a 6-3 lead. Clinging to their lead, a strong kill from Brewer, two more from Simanski, and service aces from Myers and Rockwell put Altoona ahead 16-8. Still winning later in the set, another ace from Myers and a kill from Port helped get the Lions on the board, as Altoona took the set by a score of 25-17.

Moving into the fourth set, Altoona started in a 2-0 hole but was quick to tie the game at 2-2 after an error a kill from Simanski. Two bad sets from McDaniel helped the Lions pull strongly ahead, and a kill from Port helped get the Lions to a 7-3 lead. Trailing 20-19 later, a kill from Jadeyn Price (Altoona, PA/Altoona) tied the score at 20. The teams traded points back and forth, and the set came to a 28-28 tie. But kills from Port and Myers landed the Lions a victory in the fourth set, 30-28.

On to the fifth and final set, the Lions struck first with a kill from Port, followed by kills from Simanski and Hadley. Two attack errors from McDaniel helped the Lions begin to pull ahead, 6-3, and a block from Hadley and Myers made it a four-point difference, 8-4. One point later, another Simanski kill got Altoona's lead back to four, 9-5. But the Lions began to fall behind, after a 6-0 run by McDaniel put the Green Terror up 11-9. Altoona tied the score late, after kills from Simanski and Port and a block from Price and Port made it 13-13. But with that, McDaniel pulled back on top of the Lions to win the set 15-13 and bring the Green Terror a victory in the match.

Next up, the Lions will continue their weekend in the Shenandoah Invitational tomorrow, Saturday, September 7, taking on host Shenandoah at 10:30 a.m. before wrapping up the weekend against Hood College at 12:30 p.m.