Lady Lions earn conference win against DuBois

By: Matylda Zamudio

MONACA, Pa.— In honor of coach Barbara Jean Bertges last day as head coach, the Penn State Beaver women's volleyball team served up a 3-0 win against Penn State DuBois on Wednesday night in the team's first PSUAC conference bout of the season, extending its winning streak to four games.

The teams played tough set one, with the rivals tying the score four times with the score at 11-11. But that's when the Lady Lions' offense found its rhythm and started to pull ahead starting with back to back kills from sophomore Emily Keener (Utica), followed by sophomore Ramiya White (Westland/Wayne Memorial) to prompt a late 10-4 run and give Beaver a 7-point advantage (23-16). The ladies of DuBois would seal their own fate by hitting the last two balls out of bounds to hand the Lady Lions a set win, 25-19.

It was a back-and-forth battle to open the second set. But with the set tied at 7-7, Beaver started to pull ahead with senior Amanda Mike (Hopewell) and sophomore Maria Slater (Houston/Elsik) dishing out a kill apiece, followed by a service ace by sophomore Heaven Bowman (Houston/Dulles), 10-7.  Down the stretch, Beaver built up an 8-point lead against DuBois at 23-25 and late kill by Mike made it match point for the Lady Lions (24-18). Then, the DuBois players looked as if they would make a comeback, cutting down Beaver's lead to only 3 points at 24-21, but Slater threw down the final kill to take set two 25-21.

In the third set, DuBois forged an early 4-0 run, but Beaver quickly tied the game at 5-5. The mid-point of the match saw several ties until Beaver gained momentum with a 5-1 run rounded out by a service ace by Mike, forcing DuBois to call a timeout (17-12). The Lady Lions stayed in control of the set and went on to win by a final score of 25-19 as well as a 3-0 victory for the evening.

White led the offense with 11 kills and one block, followed by Mike, who contributed 10 kills, two digs and two service aces of her own. 

After tonight's match, Beaver is now on a four-game winning streak and improves to a (5-2) overall record and 1-0 in the PSUAC conference standings. Sophomore Kelsie Hallum (Hopewell) finished with 33 assists and six digs.

The Lady Lions will be back for more conference action this Saturday, Sept. 14, when they take on Penn State Shenango on the road. The game is slated for 2 p.m.

We want to thank coach Bertges for everything she's done for the athletic department and she will be missed.