Women's Volleyball Named Lycoming Tournament Champions; Saunders All-Tournament Team

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend women's volleyball team were named the Lycoming Tournament Champions, going undefeated with a pair of wins Friday and then sweeping Lycoming and Alfred State on Saturday.

The last time the Lions (11-10) competed at the tournament they were crowned champions back in 2005. Hannah Saunders (Elizabeth, PA/Elizabeth Forward) was named to the All-Tournament Team for amassing 116 assists, 23 kills and 15 digs combined for four matches. Just today, she tallied 62 assists, 11 kills and seven digs.

Misericorida took second with a 2-2 record, followed by Lycoming with a 2-2 record for third. SUNY Canton placed fourth (1-3) and Alfred State was fifth (0-4).

In the first match, Behrend defeated the hosts 25-15, 22-25, 25-16 and 25-12. Rachel Frye (Leechburg, PA/Kiski) hit .467 behind 17 kills on 30 attempts with just three errors. Amanda Henry (Bridgeville, PA/South Fayette) added 14 kills, while Saunders tallied 38 assists and Madison Clapper (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) had a team-best 24 digs.

The Lions recorded double-digit kills in each set, including no errors in the first set for the win. Behrend jumped out to a 14-5 advantage, before each team would score 10 points more to give the Lions a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-15 decision.

Lycoming grabbed a one-point lead early in the second set and that was the tiny edge they needed to win 25-22. The same thing happened to the Lions in the third set, taking a small lead to begin. At 15-13, Behrend went on a 10-3 run to finish the set at 25-16.

The Lions held Lycoming to 12 points in the fourth. Frye and Henry had four kills apiece to secure the win for Behrend.

In the nightcap, Behrend downed Alfred State 25-20, 25-10 and 25-12. Henry led with nine kills, seven digs and two aces. Saunders posted 24 assists, seven kills, three digs and one ace.

The Lions went on a 6-0 run in the first set to break open a small two-point lead at 15-13 to make it 21-13. A small run by Alfred State at the end got them within four at 23-19, but Frye tallied a kill and Behrend won on a service error.

The same thing happened in the second with a 6-0 run in the middle of the set to make it 20-8. From there, the Lions held Alfred State to two points for a 25-10 win. In the third, Behrend tallied 12 kills with just four errors for a 25-12 score.

Behrend returns to action on Wednesday at D'Youville. Match time is 7 p.m.