Women’s Volleyball Tops Wilkes 3-1 in Home Opener
ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona women's volleyball hosted a regular season match in the Adler Arena for the first time since Fall 2019 on Tuesday night, when the Lions defeated non-conference foe Wilkes University 3-1.
Penn State Altoona (2-1) won the match's opening set in commanding fashion, 25-16. Wilkes (4-2) bounced back for a 25-19 victory in the second set, but the Lions closed things out with 25-18 and 25-21 wins in the next two sets.
Makenna Bauer (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) led all players in the match with 16.0 points and 15 kills, and she also recorded 10 digs. Taylor Myers (Morrisdale, PA/West Branch) added 12 kills on a .400 hitting percentage, 12 digs, three service aces, and one block assist.
Alexis Cannistraci (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) contributed eight kills while swinging at a .316 clip, and she led Penn State Altoona in blocks with three solo blocks and one block assist. Karlie Feathers (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) tallied seven kills, 14 digs, and a match-high five service aces. Grace Shelley (York, PA/York Catholic) produced five kills on a .556 attack percentage.
Kayla Moran (Boalsburg, PA/State College) led all players in the match in assists, racking up 35 helpers while adding 13 digs, three service aces, and two kills.
Erin Lutz (State College, PA/State College) posted a match-high 19 digs for the Lions. Allie Godwin (Pittsburgh, PA/West Allegheny) chipped in six digs, and Alison Abrashoff (Dillsburg, PA/Northern York) added two digs.
Penn State Altoona jumped out to the lead with a nine-point win in the first set, during which the Lions notched 14 kills and committed only three attack errors. The home team started strong, building early leads of 4-0 and 9-1. A Wilkes ace closed the gap to 11-10, capping a 9-2 run by the visitors, but Penn State Altoona responded with an 8-2 run that prompted a timeout by the Colonels. Leading up to that timeout, the Lions got four straight points on kills from Cannistraci, Bauer, Feathers, and a Moran service ace. Feathers' ace and Myers' kill helped Penn State Altoona increase its lead to eight, and kills from Myers and Bauer accounted for the Lions' final two points of the set.
The roles were reversed in the second set, when Wilkes worked its way out to an early lead, 8-1. Penn State Altoona scored six of the next nine points, narrowing Wilkes' lead to 11-7 following back-to-back kills from Shelley and Bauer. But the Lions were unable to get any closer than that for the remainder of the set, as Wilkes capitalized on nine Penn State Altoona hitting errors to pick up a six-point win and even the match score at 1-1.
The third set was tightly-contested until the middle stages, when Penn State Altoona began to pull away. The Lions' had their best hitting performance of the match, racking up 19 kills and committing just four errors while swinging at a .469 attack percentage as a team during the set. With Wilkes leading 11-9, Penn State Altoona embarked on an 8-0 run that flipped the script. During that run, the Lions got three kills by Cannistraci, two from Bauer, and one from Feathers. One point later, Penn State Altoona used two Myers kills, one Moran kill, and another Feathers ace to increase its lead to 21-12, en route to a seven-point win in the set.
Penn State Altoona took care of business in the fourth set, battling for a close win. Tied 18-18, the Lions jumped ahead 20-18 following a Wilkes attack error and an Abrashoff service ace. Kills by Shelley and Myers helped Penn State Altoona widen the gap to 23-19, and another Shelley kill and Wilkes error provided the last two points of the match for the home team.
Penn State Altoona women's volleyball returns to the court tomorrow, Wednesday, September 15, traveling to face non-conference opponent Chatham University in a match starting at 7:00 p.m.
