Lions Earn Split on Day One of Invitational

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend women's volleyball team split a pair of matches on the first day of the 2015 Behrend Invitational held on Friday in the Junker Center.

The Lions (4-3) fell to Bethany 3-0 (26-24, 25-12, 25-17) before defeating Frostburg State 3-1 (25-18, 26-24, 18-25, 25-18) in the nightcap. Courtney Hopson (Erie, PA/McDowell) led the team with 29 digs for two matches, while Hannah Saunders (Elizabeth, PA/Elizabeth Forward) dished out a total of 49 assists.

Against the Bobcats (2-5), Paige Scurpa (Sharpsville, PA/Sharpsville) posted a double-double with 18 digs and 12 kills. She hit .303 in the four sets and also added four assists. Three different players had four blocks, including Saunders who also tallied 26 assists.

After winning the first set 25-18, the Lions fended off Frostburg State in a close second set. Ashley Solo (Irwin, PA/Penn-Trafford) sandwiched two aces around a Bobcat timeout to knot the game at 22-all. Frostburg got to set point, but consecutive kills by Scurpa put set point into Behrend's hand and an attack error by the Bobcats got the Lions a 26-24 win.

Frostburg jumped out to a 17-11 advantage in the third set and held off Behrend to cut the lead to 2-1.

In the fourth set, the Lions broke an 11-all tie with an 8-3 run to get out front 19-13. Allania Banta (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) registered back-to-back service aces to close out the match, 25-18.

In the first match, the Lions nearly defeated Bethany in the first set. Behrend had the lead in the match until the Bison tied it at 20 and then again at 23. A kill by Rachel Frye (Leechburg, PA/Kiski) gave the Lions set point, but a pair of kills by Bethany set up the win at 26-24.

Hopson finished with 14 digs, while Lindsay Bean (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) and Meredith Snyder (Parker, PA/Allegheny Clarion Valley) each added six kills.

The Lions return to action tomorrow against Defiance. Match begins at 10:30 a.m.