by Christina Roukas

ALFRED, N.Y. – The fifth seed Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team's season came to an end on Saturday, when the Lions lost to top seed Alfred State College in a 3-2 match (25-20, 19-25, 25-18, 21-25, 15-12) in the semifinal round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament at Orvis Gymnasium.

Alfred State (19-6) advances to the AMCC championship match on its home court tomorrow, Sunday, November 6, while Penn State Altoona (11-13) is eliminated from the postseason.

In the first set, Lydia Mock's (Alum Bank, PA/Chestnut Ridge) back row kill put Altoona on the board, 2-1, and Lacee Barnhart's (Bellefonte, PA/Bald Eagle) push kept the deficit at one, 10-9. Taylor Myers' (Morrisdale, PA/West Branch) kill kept the Lions within three, 19-16, followed by an ace from Allie Godwin (Pittsburgh, PA/West Allegheny) that made it a two-point set. Barnhart's kill kept her team within four, 24-20, but Alfred State won the first set 25-20. 

In the second set, Morgan Fussell (Blairsville, GA/Union County) scored a kill to put Altoona up 6-3, followed by a kill from Mock that increased the lead to four. Barnhart also contributed a kill to make it 11-6, and Makenna Port (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) scored a kill to make it 13-7. Kayla Moran's (Boalsburg, PA/State College) dump upped the lead to 14-7, and a kill from Mock increased the lead to nine, 18-9. Port's push put the Lions a point away from taking the set, 24-17, and Mock eventually closed the set at 25-19 by scoring a kill.

Alfred State worked its way out to a 12-4 lead to start the third set, before Mock scored a kill to make it 12-5. After Alfred State took a 10-point lead against Lions, 16-6, Myers followed with a kill, and Barnhart's kill made it 20-11. Mock's kill lowered the deficit to six, 23-17, but Alfred State won the third set 25-18. 

In the fourth set, Mock scored a kill to put the Lions up 4-2, and Port's tip broke a 9-9 tie to take the lead, 10-9. Barnhart's kill put Altoona ahead 19-15, and Mock scored a kill to close the fourth set 25-21 in favor of the Lions.

In the fifth set, Fussell and Port combined for a block to tie the match, 5-5. Myers scored a kill to put the Lions behind by one point, 9-8, and Port's push kept Altoona within two, 12-10. But Alfred State proceeded to win the fifth set 15-12, winning the match and moving on to the conference championship tomorrow.

Mock led the Lions with 20.5 points and 20 kills while adding 22 digs. Barnhart had 17 points with 16 kills and 20 digs, and Myers contributed 11.5 points with seven kills and five total blocks (three block assists, two solo blocks).

Fussell had 8.5 points on a match-high seven total blocks (four solo blocks, three block assists) and three kills, and Port totaled eight points on seven kills and two block assists.

Moran had a team-high 45 assists to go along with 14 digs and three kills.

Erin Lutz (State College, PA/State College) led the team in digs with 23, and Godwin added eight digs.