Lions Fall to Mounties in AMCC Opener
CRESSON, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team started its 2025 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference schedule with a loss on Tuesday night, when the Lions were swept 3-0 by nearby rival Mount Aloysius College in the ACW Center.
Mount Aloysius (13-6, 1-0 AMCC) overpowered Penn State Altoona (8-10, 0-1 AMCC) by set scores of 25-13, 25-16, and 25-10.
Lia Simanski (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) scored nine points on nine kills, Maggie Brewer (NuMine, PA/West Shamokin) had 5.5 points on five kills and a block assist, and Ella Hadley (Spring Mills, PA/Penns Valley) added 4.5 points on four kills and a block assist.
Julia Emel (Woodward, PA/Penns Valley) tallied 10 assists, and Marlo Mellish (Kittanning, PA/Armstrong) chipped in seven assists.
Brianna Woodring (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) recorded eight digs.
Penn State Altoona worked its way out to an early lead in the first set, as kills by Hadley, Brewer, and Simanski helped the Lions to a 7-5 advantage. Mount Aloysius surged in front, however, thanks to a 5-0 run that put the home team up by three points. The Mounties continued to expand their lead, going up by double digits in the latter stages of the set and eventually winning it by 12 points, 25-13.
The Lions again staked out an early lead in the second set. A block from Hadley and Kyla Campbell (Altoona, PA/Great Commission) represented the first point, and kills from Brewer, Simanski, and Hadley got Penn State Altoona to an 11-10 advantage. But Mount Aloysius used another run to leap into the lead, reeling off seven points in a row to go up 17-11. Makiya Mack (Philipsburg, PA/West Branch) and Brewer teamed up on a block to break the Mounties' run, and kills from Hannah Swank (Boswell, PA/Conemaugh Township) and Hadley trimmed the Mount Aloysius lead to four, 19-15. But the Mounties scored four straight points after that and went on to win the set 25-16.
Penn State Altoona got early kills from Brewer and Simanski in the third set, but a 6-0 Mount Aloysius run erased a 2-1 Lions lead. The Mounties continued to grow their lead over the course of the set while Penn State Altoona struggled to find its footing. Mount Aloysius ultimately took the third by a score of 25-10, dealing the Lions a three-set loss to start their conference schedule.
Penn State Altoona women's volleyball continues AMCC play on the road this Saturday, October 11, heading north to face league opponent Pitt-Bradford in a 1 p.m. match.
