ROCHESTER, NY – Paige Scurpa (Sharpsville, PA/Sharpsville) posted 29 kills and 26 digs on day two of the St. John Fisher Tournament, helping the Penn State Behrend women's volleyball team defeat the Cardinals 3-0 but fall to Buffalo State 3-1 on Saturday.
The Lions (7-6) went 3-1 on the weekend behind wins over Alfred and D'Youville yesterday and then earning a 25-21, 25-23 and 25-19 victory against St. John Fisher. Behrend dropped two close sets to the Cardinals, falling by two 25-23 and 26-24 in the first and third set, respectively. The Lions tied it at 1-all with a 25-12 win in set two before dropping the fourth set, 25-21.
For their efforts, Scurpa and Meredith Snyder (Parker, PA/Allegheny-Clarion Valley) were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Junior setter Hannah Saunders (Elizabeth, PA/Elizabeth Forward) finished the day with 69 assists to push her over the 2,000 assists plateau for her career. She posted 41 against Buffalo State and 28 against S. John Fisher.
Amanda Henry (Bridgeville, PA/South Fayette) led against the Cardinals with 14 kills, while Scurpa recorded 11 digs and nine kills. Snyder posted a match-high 14 digs.
Down by three in the first set at 7-4, Rachel Frye (Leechburg, PA/Kiski) registered a kill and served three straight points for a slight 8-7 edge. St. John Fisher tied the game on two occasions, but Henry added two kills to keep Behrend ahead at 15-10. The Lions had four chances at set point and got it from a Saunders kill off a pass from Lexi Irwin (Greensburg, PA/Hempfield) for a 25-21 win.
The second set was closer than the first. The Cardinals used a 5-0 run to take a 21-18 lead. Scurpa halted the run with a kill and Henry followed with a kill to get within one. Behrend was able to tie it at 23-all and got the two final points on an attack error and an ace by Saunders.
The Lions waited until the final points to take their largest lead in the third set. Henry posted back-to-back kills to give Behrend a 24-18 lead and then got her sixth kill of the set for the win at 25-19.
Against Buffalo State, Scurpa hit .415 behind a team-best 20 kills on 41 attempts with three errors. She also added 15 digs, while Julie Pace (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) registered 15 digs in the loss.
After falling 25-23 in the first set, the Lions tallied 14 kills with one error as a team in the second set to post a commanding 25-12 win in the second. Behrend started with an 11-3 run, forcing a Tigers timeout. The Lions extended the lead to double-digits at 14 and finished with a Kylie McSwaney ( ) kill.
Behrend used the momentum from the second set to start the third. The Lions pulled ahead 7-3 and held the Buffalo State broke a 19-all tie and stayed out front, capitalizing on two errors for a 26-24 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Tigers closed out the match in the fourth set, winning 25-21.
The Lions return to action on Thursday against Thiel at 7 p.m.
