ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team continued its early-season homestand on Saturday, hosting non-conference foes Chatham University and Elizabethtown College for a tri-match in Adler Arena.

Penn State Altoona (5-6) started the day slowly, as the Lions were swept 3-0 by Chatham in the opening match. The home team bounced back, however, pulling out a 3-2 victory over Elizabethtown in the third and final match of the day.

Elizabethtown defeated Chatham 3-2 in the middle match.

Match One: Chatham 3, Penn State Altoona 0

Penn State Altoona had a rough start to its day, falling in three sets to Chatham (2-5) by scores of 25-21, 25-18, and 25-13.

Makenna Port (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) had 7.5 points on seven kills and a block assist, and Maggie Brewer (NuMine, PA/West Shamokin) contributed six points on six kills. Jadeyn Price (Altoona, PA/Altoona) scored 5.5 points on five kills and a block assist, and Lia Simanski (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) added five points on four kills and a service ace.

Julia Emel (Woodward, PA/Penns Valley) had 14 assists and 14 digs, while Madelyn Rockwell (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) chipped in seven assists.

Anna Batrus (Altoona, PA/Altoona) led all players in the match with 16 digs.

Chatham never trailed in the first set, and the Cougars led by as many as seven points, 20-13. After that, Penn State Altoona scored four straight points on kills from Price and Taylor Myers (Morrisdale, PA/West Branch), a Chatham attack error, and an Emel ace to cut its deficit to 20-17. Kills from Simanski and Port helped keep the Lions within three, 24-21, but Chatham scored the final point of the set on an attack error to win it, 25-21.

Penn State Altoona worked its way out to a 6-5 lead early in the second set, getting kills from Port and Brewer and a block from Port and Price along the way. But Chatham responded with a 7-1 run to go up 12-7, and the visitors never relinquished their lead the rest of the way. Ahead 20-18, the Cougars scored five points in a row to close out the set at 25-18 and grab a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Lions kept things close early in the third set, with kills from Port and Rockwell trimming an early Chatham lead to one, 4-3. But the Cougars went on a 13-1 run to break the set open, increasing their advantage to 17-4 en route to a 25-13 victory that clinched a sweep of the Lions.

Match Two: Penn State Altoona 3, Elizabethtown 2

The Lions had a better showing in their second match of the day, grinding out a five-set win over Elizabethtown. Penn State Altoona won the first set 28-26, before the Blue Jays answered with a 25-19 victory in the second set. The teams continued to trade sets, with the Lions taking the third by a score of 25-19 and Elizabethtown prevailing in the fourth by a 25-22 decision. But Penn State Altoona earned the match win with a 15-10 victory in the fifth set.

Port led the Lions in points with 16.5 on 13 kills, three solo blocks, and a block assist. Simanski totaled 14.5 points on 11 kills, three service aces, and a block assist to go along with 23 digs.

Ella Hadley (Spring Mills, PA/Penns Valley) scored 14 points on 12 kills and two aces, and Price finished with 12.5 points on 12 kills and a block assist.

Rockwell had a match-high 32 assists for Penn State Altoona while adding 14 digs, three kills, and three aces, and Emel totaled 18 assists and 14 digs.

Batrus led all players in the match with 28 digs while dropping in three aces.

Penn State Altoona overcame an early hole, as Elizabethtown opened the first set by scoring seven straight points. The Lions battled back to tie the score at 11-11, following an ace from Hadley. Three straight Simanski points – one kill and two aces – helped Penn State Altoona jump ahead 17-14. The home team got to set point, 24-20, before the Blue Jays reeled off five straight points to get to a set point of their own, 25-24. The score evened at 25-25 following an Elizabethtown attack error, and the teams exchanged points to remain knotted, 26-26. But a Batrus ace put the Lions in front, and Hadley's kill finished the set at 28-26, in favor of Penn State Altoona.

The Lions led 11-8 midway through the second set, but Elizabethtown embarked on an 11-1 run to turn the tables on Penn State Altoona and grab a 19-12 advantage. The Lions closed the gap to five, 24-19, but a kill from the Blue Jays gave the visitors a 25-19 victory in the second set.

Down 2-1 early in the third, Penn State Altoona got six straight points, including kills from Simanski and Port, plus a Simanski ace. Leading 11-9 later, the Lions posted another 6-0 run that was highlighted by three Rockwell aces and a Price kill. Back-to-back Port kills made it 19-10, and a Simanski kill ultimately put the finishing touches on the set, sealing a 25-19 set win for the Lions.

The Lions led for much of the fourth set, including holding a 19-16 advantage, but Elizabethtown used a 5-1 run to work its way in front, 21-20. Two kills by Myers brought Penn State Altoona even on the scoreboard, 22-22, but the set ended with three straight Elizabethtown points, as the Blue Jays stayed alive with a 25-22 win in the fourth.

The Lions got a kill from Port to start the fifth set and never fell behind after that. Another Port kill, along with two Price kills and a Hadley kill, made it 5-3. Simanski added three more kills and Myers put down one kill to help extend Penn State Altoona's lead to 10-6, and Port and Price notched kills to push the Lions to set point, 14-9. Myers ended the match with a kill that clinched a five-set win for Penn State Altoona, as the Lions took the decisive fifth set, 15-10.

Penn State Altoona wraps up its homestand this Tuesday, September 17, when the Lions will face non-conference opponent Lycoming College at 7 p.m. in Adler Arena.