MORRISVILLE, NY - The Penn State Behrend women's volleyball split a pair of matches on the final day of the Morrisville State Tournament, defeating Norwich 3-0 and falling to MIT 3-0 on Sunday afternoon.
The Lions (1-2) handled Norwich in three sets by scores of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-8. In the opener, Behrend fell 25-12, 25-21 and 25-16. Amanda Henry (Bridgeville, PA/South Fayette) combined for 15 kills and 12 digs on the day to go with nine kills and 11 digs from yesterday to be named to the All-Tournament Team.
Against Norwich, Henry posted 12 kills, nine digs, four assists and three aces to help Behrend capture its first win of the season. Lexi Irwin (Greensburg, PA/Hempfield) tallied a double-double with a match-best 13 digs and 11 assists.
In the first set, the Lions got six kills and three aces to help jump out to a 14-6 lead. Irwin's serving got five straight points including three kills from Henry to go ahead 20-9 and force a Norwich timeout. Keely Hering (North East, PA/North East) and Alex Parra (Pittsburgh, PA/Bishop Canevin) each recorded a kill before an attack error secured the set at 25-16.
With the second set close at 17-14 in favor of Behrend, the Lions won the next eight out of 10 points to take a 2-0 lead in the match (25-16). The efficient offense and stingy defense allowed Behrend to get by Norwich 25-8 in the third for the victory.
Madison Clapper (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) tallied 11 digs and Rachel Frye (Leechburg, PA/Kiski) added nine kills in the win. As a team, the Lions posted a .338 hitting percentage with 39 kills on 77 attempts.
In the first match against MIT, Kylie McSwaney (Greensburg, PA/Greensburg Salem) recorded five kills and five blocks to lead Behrend. Hannah Saunders (Elizabeth, PA/Elizabeth Forward) dished out 14 assists.
With a small 9-8 lead, MIT went on a 16-4 run to close out the first set and a 1-0 lead. The Lions battled back from a 7-1 deficit in the second set to make it 9-7 behind a kill from Hering. MIT quickly regained an eight-point lead at 20-12 before edging Behrend 25-21. MIT posted a 25-16 win in the third set for a 3-0 win over the Lions.
Behrend returns to action on Wednesday at Grove City, beginning at 7 p.m.
