Saturday's big AMCC volleyball contest featured a pair of undefeated league teams in Penn State Behrend and the Frostburg State Bobcats.
Behrend entered having won five of its last eight matches, while FSU traveled to Erie with a 23-4 overall record and a 4-0 mark in AMCC play to set up the huge afternoon match in the Junker Center.
The blue and white came out in game one and made a statement to the Bobcats, letting them know it was going to be a battle on the court. Behrend outworked the black and red in game one en route to a lopsided 25-14 win. "I was very pleased with how we started the match as we worked hard and came out of the gate with a lot of fire," said Behrend head coach Phil Pisano.
After Frostburg bounced back and snagged game two 25-23, it set up a pivotal game three. The Behrend Lions led 18-11 but the Bobcats rallied to knot the match at 20-20, before Behrend earned the 25-23 win to go up 2-1.
Game four was a back-and-forth contest and was tied 17 all. Then Behrend again turned up its play scoring eight straight for the 25-17 result and a 3-1 win.
"This was our biggest win of the year," said Pisano. "It was a key conference win and puts us in the driver's seat as we head down the stretch in AMCC play."
Statistically, Behrend received outstanding contributions from a variety of players. On the day, Lauren Dalton (Cochranton/Cochranton) and Danielle Woods (Pittsburgh/Baldwin) led the offense with nine kills apiece, while Danielle Kindle (Erie/McDowell) and Carissa Johnston (Cambridge Springs/Cambridge Springs) added seven each. Brooke Gallentine (Mt. Pleasant/Southmoreland) delivered the ball exceptionally well throughout the four sets logging 29 assists on the afternoon.
Behrend's defense was outstanding in the match, as Woods led with 26 digs, while Liz Emerick (Hopewell/Hopewell) added 18 digs and Stefanie Kelley (Moon Township/Moon) chipped in 15 digs of her own.
In last year's regular season, the Bobcats handled the blue and white 3-0 in Maryland. With today's win Behrend improves to 17-8 overall and remains perfect at 5-0 in the league, while FSU is now 23-5 and 4-1 in the AMCC. Behrend volleyball next travels to face league opponent Medaille on October 21 at 7:00 p.m.
