ERIE, Pa. – The Fredonia State Blue Devils women's volleyball team had four players with double-digit kills while Kelly Edinger tallied 54 assists to defeat Penn State Behrend 3-1 in non-conference action on Tuesday night.
Sara Madison recorded a game-high 18 kills to go with 20 digs and Lauren Hokaj posted a game-best 34 digs to help the Blue Devils (15-7) halt the Lions (14-6) comeback attempt with a 25-22, 25-19, 22-25, 25-22 victory.
Alyssa Samarco (Plum, PA/Plum) registered her 13th double-double with a career-best 25 digs and a game-high 16 kills. Kylie McSwaney (Greensburg, PA/Greensburg Salem) added 11 kills and team-best three blocks.
Fredonia State took a 2-0 lead in the match behind 20 kills in the first set and 11 in the second. Madison was responsible for 11 of those kills alone.
Down seven points in the third, Behrend began to make a comeback with a 9-0 run thanks to Allania Banta's (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) eight service points including one ace. From there, the Lions never trailed and got a pair of kills from Ashley Solo (Irwin, PA/Penn-Trafford) for a 25-22 win to cut the lead to 2-1.
Behrend tried to get an edge on the Blue Devils in the fourth, knowing they had a good chance at winning the match if they could get into a fifth set. An 8-3 spurt propelled the Lions to within one point at 21-20. Samarco, who knocked in seven kills for the set, got two in a row to force a Fredonia State timeout. After the break and at 22-all, Kristen Stanek tallied the final three consecutive kills for the match (25-22).
Meredith Snyder (Parker, PA/Allegheny Clarion Valley) also earned a double-double with 21 assists and 13 digs for Behrend. Courtney Hopson (Erie, PA/McDowell) finished with 23 digs.
The Lions return to action on Friday against Plymouth State and Messiah at the Kean Tournament.
