Women’s Volleyball Earns Four-Set Win Over Rival Mounties
by Casey Burinskas
ALTOONA, Pa. – On Wednesday night, the Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team took on nearby Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference foe Mount Aloysius College in the Adler Arena, where the Lions landed a 3-1 win on their Dig Pink Night.
The Lions raised over $2,000 in support of the Side-Out Foundation, which aims to increase awareness in the fight against breast cancer.
Penn State Altoona (15-10, 6-0 AMCC) overcame deficits in the first two sets, winning both by scores of 26-24. Mount Aloysius (11-13, 3-2 AMCC) stayed alive with a 25-22 victory in the third set, but the Lions took the fourth set 25-18 to seal the match win.
For the Lions, Makenna Port (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) had a team-high total of 13 kills followed close behind by Taylor Myers (Morrisdale, PA/West Branch), Lia Simanski (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle), Ella Hadley (Spring Mills, PA/Penns Valley), and Maggie Brewer (NuMine, PA/ West Shamokin), who all came in with seven kills.
Julia Emel (Woodward, PA/Penns Valley) totaled 22 assists to lead the team, while Madelyn Rockwell (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) had 11 assists and a match-high four service aces.
Anna Batrus (Altoona, PA/Altoona) had a team-high total of 27 digs, and Hadley had 16 digs for the Lions.
Jadeyn Price (Altoona, PA/Altoona) had a match-high five total blocks, recording four block assists and one solo block. Myers and Port each had a solo block and two block assists, and Brewer made one solo block.
In the first set, the Mounties were quick to take off with the lead, but the Lions were able to respond. Attack errors started falling in from Mount, and a kill from Port helped Altoona get back into the race, down 7-6. Kills from Hadley and Brewer landed more points on the board for the Lions, as they still barely trailed. Kills coming in from Port and Rockwell, followed by attack errors by the Mounties, allowed the Lions to tie the set, 16-16. Mount Aloysius got to set point, 24-22, but Altoona kicked into gear and was able to find its footing. Two kills from Port, a Mount attack error, and a kill from Price ended the set with a win for Altoona by a score of 26-24.
Altoona started the second set with Myers' kill and solo block, then quickly fell behind the Mounties, 6-3. Altoona responded with a kill from Simanski and a service ace from Myers, but Mount put its lead back to three, 8-5. But the Lions took off on a 6-0 run, consisting of two kills by Port, one kill apiece from Brewer and Price, and a Rockwell ace, to go up 11-8. The Mounties outscored the Lions 13-5 over the next 18 points to establish a 21-16 lead, before Altoona again rallied from behind. Several attack errors by the Mounties, a Port kill, and a Brewer block tied the score at 21-21, and the teams found themselves still tied, 24-24, later in the set. But Altoona got a kill from Hadley, followed by a Mountie attack error to win the second set with a score of 26-24.
In the third set, points bounced back and forth. Altoona started its points with kills from Myers and Simanski, and midway through the set, a kill from Rockwell and service ace from Port helped Altoona stay one point behind the Mount Aloysius lead, 17-16. Emel's ace and Myers' kill tied the score at 20-20, but ultimately, Mount pulled away for a 25-22 win in the third set.
In the fourth set, Penn State Altoona scored the first two points on a kill by Brewer and ace from Emel. Altoona began to find its groove, racking in more point from Myers, Simanski, Port, Rockwell, and Hadley to go ahead 10-5. Later, the Lions used an 8-1 run to take an eight-point lead, 18-10. Up 22-18, Altoona closed out the set and secured the win, getting three straight errors by the Mounties to take the fourth set by a score of 25-18.
Next up, Penn State Altoona women's volleyball plays its last road match of the regular season this Saturday, November 2, when the Lions will travel to face AMCC opponent Alfred State College at 11 a.m.
