LATROBE, Pa. – Penn State Altoona women's volleyball pulled out a 3-2 win in a back-and-forth match on Thursday evening in the Robert S. Carey Student Center, as the Lions defeated non-conference opponent Saint Vincent College.

The match was a makeup of a previously-postponed date from earlier this season.

Penn State Altoona (8-3) won the first two sets by scores of 25-23 and 25-22, but St. Vincent (6-9) battled back to tie the match score with 25-22 and 25-19 wins in the next two sets. However, the Lions earned a dominant 15-6 victory in the fifth set to leave with a victory.

Lydia Mock (Alum Bank, PA/Chestnut Ridge) had a match-high 20.0 points, leading all players with 19 kills to go along with 16 digs and one solo block. Makenna Bauer (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) added 13 kills, 11 digs, and one block assist, while Lacee Barnhart (Bellefonte, PA/Bald Eagle) finished with 12 kills, a match-high four service aces, and 26 digs.

Alexis Cannistraci (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) added six kills and six digs, and she led the Lions in blocks with one solo and one assist. Grace Shelley (York, PA/York Catholic) chipped in five kills.

Kayla Moran (Boalsburg, PA/State College) posted a match-high 44 assists, and she also recorded 14 digs and three kills.

Erin Lutz (State College, PA/State College) led her team with 31 digs. Allie Godwin (Pittsburgh, PA/West Allegheny) added six digs.

Penn State Altoona came from behind at the end of the first set to win it. Trailing 19-12, the Lions outscored St. Vincent 13-4 the rest of the way to prevail in the opening set. With Penn State Altoona up 22-20 after a timeout, Mock and Bauer recorded kills on consecutive points to make it 22-22. Another kills by Mock kept the score tied, 23-23, and a St. Vincent attack error and setting error helped close out the set in Penn State Altoona's favor.

In the second set, Penn State Altoona came out on the winning side of a tightly-contested ordeal. Down 20-19, a St. Vincent attack error, a Bauer kill, and a Barnhart ace put the Lions on top, 22-20. Leading 24-22, Mock's kill finished things off to give Penn State Altoona a 25-22 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.

St. Vincent answered by winning each of the next two sets, and the match proceeded into a tiebreaking fifth set.

Penn State Altoona worked its way out to a big 10-1 lead in the fifth, helped by two kills and two aces by Barnhart, as well as one kill apiece from Cannistraci, Mock, and Bauer. Ahead 14-6 later, Barnhart's kill finished things off to help the Lions to a five-set victory in the match.

Penn State Altoona women's volleyball returns to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play on the road this weekend, as the Lions will head to Erie to face conference opponent Penn State Behrend this Saturday, October 9 at 12:00 p.m.

Saturday's date in Erie was originally scheduled to be a tri-match with Penn State Altoona, Penn State Behrend, and non-conference team Geneva College. However, Geneva has been forced to cancel their matches with Altoona and Behrend due to COVID-19 protocols.