Women’s Volleyball Wins 3-0 on Senior Night
ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona women's volleyball cruised to a 3-0 victory over Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Greensburg on Wednesday night in the Adler Auxiliary Gym.
On the team's Senior Night, the Lady Lions (11-10, 7-2 AMCC) helped to honor seniors Emily Bryan (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro) and Lauren Diller (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg) with a 25-13, 25-16, 25-20 win in the final home match of the regular season.
In the match, Bryan totaled a match-high four service aces and a team-high 15 assists while adding six digs, four kills, and one block assist. Diller posted 10 digs, five kills, two block assists, and one ace.
Lydia Mock (Alum Bank, PA/Chestnut Ridge) tied for the match-high in kills with seven, led her team in digs with 11, and also finished with two solo blocks and one block assist. Jenna Bauer (Ebensburg, PA/Central Cambria) had six kills, seven digs, and three block assists.
Alexis Cannistraci (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) led all players in the match with five block assists, and she also contributed three kills. Sara Russo (Lebanon, PA/Cedar Crest) had three block assists and two kills, and Velanna Skripek (Moshannon, PA/Bald Eagle) posted two kills and one block assist.
Kayla Moran (Boalsburg, PA/State College) contributed 11 assists and four digs, and Lexie Dorcon (Berlin, PA/Berlin Brothersvalley) had eight digs.
Penn State Altoona handled Pitt-Greensburg (7-17, 3-6 AMCC) in the opening set, prevailing by 12 points. The Lady Lions established an 11-point lead midway through the set, going up 17-6 and prompting a timeout from the visitors. Three kills from Mock powered Penn State Altoona in the latter stages of the set, and Diller capped the set with a kill to give her team a 1-0 lead in the match.
Pitt-Greensburg kept pace with Penn State Altoona for much of the second set, before the Lady Lions pulled away. Tied 11-11, Penn State Altoona outscored Pitt-Greensburg 14-5 the rest of the way. After a timeout by the visitors with the home team up 20-16, the Lady Lions reeled off the next five straight points to win the set. In that run, Penn State Altoona got back-to-back blocks from Mock, an ace from Bauer, a kill by Lilia Farach (Tegucigalpa, Honduras/International School of Panama), and a Pitt-Greensburg attack error.
In the third set, Penn State Altoona jumped out to an early lead and rode it through the remainder of the game. A pair of Bryan aces, along with kills from Mock, Diller, and Bryan, helped the Lady Lions get out to a 10-2 advantage, and Cannistraci's kill made it 16-6. Pitt-Greensburg countered with 10 consecutive points to tie the score 16-16, but Penn State Altoona bounced back to reclaim the lead, 19-16, on a Mock kill and a pair of blocks involving Bryan, Cannistraci, and Mock. Leading 22-20 after a timeout, Penn State Altoona finished things off with a kill from Skripek and back-to-back aces from Bryan.
Penn State Altoona women's volleyball will finish its regular season schedule on the road this Saturday, November 2, when the Lady Lions travel to face AMCC opponent Pitt-Bradford at 1:00 p.m. That match will have plenty of postseason implications for both teams, including the possibility of Penn State Altoona nabbing the second seed and a first round bye in the upcoming AMCC Tournament.
