by Christina Roukas

ERIE, Pa. – On Saturday night, the Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team beat Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Penn State Behrend 3-2 (27-25, 19-25, 22-25, 25-18, 19-17) in the Junker Center.

Penn State Altoona (6-10, 2-1 AMCC) made a thrilling comeback in the fifth set, overcoming deficits of 10-5 and 14-8 to seal the win. It marks the Lions' first win over Behrend (9-12, 1-2 AMCC) in Erie since October 1, 2016.

Lydia Mock (Alum Bank, PA/Chestnut Ridge) led Penn State Altoona with 20.5 points and 18 kills to go along with 24 digs, two service aces, and a block assist. Lacee Barnhart (Bellefonte, PA/Bald Eagle) had 17 points on 14 kills and a match-high three aces, and she also had 20 digs while adding four assists.

Taylor Myers (Morrisdale, PA/West Branch) contributed 12.5 points on 10 kills, two aces, and a block assist, and Makenna Port (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) totaled 10.5 points on eight kills, three block assists, and one solo block. Morgan Fussell (Blairsville, GA/Union County) led all players in the match in blocks, totaling three solo blocks and three block assists, and she also recorded three kills.

Kayla Moran (Boalsburg, PA/State College) led the Lions in assists with 42 while adding 19 digs and five kills.

Erin Lutz (State College, PA/State College) totaled a team-high 28 digs while chipping in four assists and a kill. Abigail Brinker (Lock Haven, PA/PHAA) tallied nine digs and two service aces.

In the first set, Penn State Altoona had an early 4-0 run that put the Lions in front, 6-4. Fussell later scored a kill to tie the match, 14-14, followed by an ace from Barnhart to break the tie. Mock scored a kill to keep Penn State Altoona within one point of a late Behrend lead, and Port's kill tied the set at 21. Later, Mock's kill put the Lions up 26-25, and Myers followed with a tip for a kill to end the set at 27-25 in favor of Penn State Altoona.

In the second set, Mock scored a kill to trim an early Behrend lead to 3-2. Port's push kept the Lions within four, 7-3, followed by another kill from Mock and a duo block from Mock and Port to make it 7-5. Barnhart's kill later in the set cut a Behrend lead to four points, 18-14, and Fussell also scored a kill to keep the difference at four, 23-19. But Behrend scored the next two points after that to win the second set by six, evening the match score at 1-1.

In the third set, early kills by Myers, Mock, Moran, and Port preceded a tip over from Barnhart that helped the Lions stay within one point, 8-7, of a Behrend lead. A Myers kill and Barnhart ace later in the set kept the Lions within three, 20-17, and Penn State Altoona eventually closed the gap to 23-22. But Behrend responded by winning the next two points to take the third set by three and grab the lead in the match.

Moran recorded a kill early in the fourth set to tie the score, 3-3. Mock's kill lowered a Behrend lead to 6-5, and Barnhart's kill several points later helped Penn State Altoona take the lead, 10-9. Mock's ace put the Lions up 16-14, and her back row kill made it 20-16. The Lions got two more kills by Mock and a block from Fussell during the remainder of the set, as Penn State Altoona prevailed by seven points to tie the match score at 2-2.

In the fifth set, Penn State Altoona scored the first two points on kills by Barnhart and Myers, but Behrend went on a 10-3 run to take a healthy lead against the Lions. After the home team expanded its lead to six, 14-8, Penn State Altoona made a strong comeback to stay in the set. Fussell's solo block got the Lions back to within three points, and a roll shot by Barnhart lowered the deficit to two, 14-12. Fussell and Myers teamed up on another block to tie the score at 14, and a kill and an ace from Barnhart got Penn State Altoona into the lead, 16-15. Behrend jumped ahead 17-16, but the Lions stayed alive when an attack error knotted the score at 17-17. Back-to-back kills from Mock and Barnhart completed the comeback, as Penn State Altoona won the fifth set 19-17 to claim victory in the five-set match.

The Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team comes back to Adler Arena for its next match, when the Lions will play against AMCC opponent Pitt-Greensburg on Tuesday, October 18. The match start time is set at 7:00 p.m.