ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend women's volleyball team split a tri-match on Saturday, falling to Penn State Altoona 3-2 and then defeating Wilkes 3-1.
In a thrilling opening match, the Altoona Lions were able to edge the Lions in five sets winning 25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 17-25, 16-14 to remain undefeated in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) play. Behrend then posted a 21-25, 25-16, 25-15 and 25-20 victory over the Colonels in the nightcap.
Hannah Saunders (Elizabeth, PA/Elizabeth Forward) tallied 82 assists on the day, while Madison Clapper (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) recorded 54 digs for both matches.
Against Altoona, Rachel Frye (Leechburg, PA/Kiski) hit .429 with 17 kills, two errors on 35 attempts. It was errors that got the best of Behrend in the first set to allow the Altoona Lions to grab a 25-20 win. In the second set, Altoona hit. 419 with 16 kills to take a 2-0 lead with a 25-18 decision.
The Lions rallied in the third and fourth set to force a decisive set. The third set was tied until the final two points. Saunders set up Keely Hering (North East, PA/North East) for a kill to make it 24-23 and then Amanda Henry (Bridgeville, PA/South Fayette) was able to set up Saunders for the set-winning kill.
Behrend never trailed and jumped out to a quick lead that grew by eight points at 22-14. The Lions had a chance to win the set three times and finally did with a kill from Hering to make it 25-17.
With a close fifth set, the Lions had a chance to win at 14-13 after Frye tallied the kill off the block error. Altoona took a timeout and won the next three points for a 16-14 victory and the match.
Hering and Henry each tallied a double-double for the Lions in the win over Wilkes. Hering led with 15 kills and 11 digs, while Henry added 12 kills, 11 digs and four aces. Clapper dished out 30 digs and Saunders tallied 38 assists.
After falling in the first set, Behrend won the next three to capture its sixth win of the season. With a small 12-11 lead in the second set, the Lions used an 11-2 run to jump ahead 23-13. Behrend took advantage of a service error and won thanks to a Hering kill once again at 25-16.
Behrend had another late run in the third set to turn a 9-8 lead into a 20-11 advantage and then winning on an attack error at 25-15. The Lions were able to take an 11-4 lead but the Colonels cut the lead to one with a 6-0 spurt and eventually took the lead at 17-14. Wilkes committed four straight errors combined with two kills from Hering got the Lions ahead 23-19. Henry then recorded an ace and the Colonels had another error for a 25-20 win.
Behrend returns to action on Tuesday against Hilbert. Match time is 7 p.m.