No. 5 La Roche Nips No. 4 Behrend in AMCC First Round

ERIE, Pa. – The fifth-seed La Roche women's volleyball team defeated fourth-seed Penn State Behrend 3-0 in the first round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Tournament on Wednesday night.

The Lions (14-15), who defeated the Redhawks (16-12) during the regular season by a score of 3-0, had set point on three occasions (twice in the first and once in the third) but fell in a close match 26-24, 25-19, 26-24.

Laura Nath had a game-high 10 kills and Kayla Lurry added nine kills for La Roche. Kelly Slates led with 20 digs and Toni Torchia followed with 18.

For Behrend, Lindsay Bean (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) had nine kills on 23 attempts (.304), while Maddie Auld (Peters Township, PA/Peters Township) and Courtney Hopson (Erie, PA/McDowell) each recorded 14 digs.

In a close first set, the Lions were faced with two set points beginning at 24-22. Kayla Bulat and Nath each tallied kills to knot it at 24-all. The Redhawks scored the next two points for a small 4-0 spurt and a 26-24 victory, winning on a kill from Vicky Danko.

La Roche narrowly trailed at the opening of set two, before gaining the lead and staying out front for a 2-0 lead in the match. Nath had four kills in the final six points for the Redhawks to post a 25-19 win.

In a must-win set for Behrend, the Lions got to set point at 24-23 off a kill from Rachel Frye (Leechburg, PA/Kiski Area). A service error tied the set and a pair of kills by La Roche sealed their trip to the conference semifinals this weekend at Medaille.

Setter Lexi Irwin (Irwin, PA/Hempfield) had a team-best 15 assists and added five digs.