Monaca, Pa – The Penn State Shenango Lady Lions volleyball team competed in a back and forth three set thrillers against Penn State Beaver last night. It was arguably the best the team has played the entire season. Jr. Robin Reynolds made her Penn State debut in this game and made an impact at the net for Shenango. The Lady Lions ended up losing to Penn State Beaver (25-17, 25-23, 26-24) in front of a rowdy home crowd at the Field House. The Lady Lions fell to 1-6 on the season as a result.  

The first set saw Shenango take an early lead behind the serving of Fr. Emily Bortnick. The Freshman's Jump Serve continued to stymie Shenango's opponents. Bortnick put Shenango out in front 3-0. The two teams then exchanged points eventually tying at 6-6. Beaver then took advantage of errors to a mount a 20-8 advantage. Shenango then rallied behind the serving of Bortnick and Fr. Emily Filicky pulling to within 7 points of the lead. Penn State Beaver eventually took the set 25-17.

In the second set Penn State Beaver controlled the match early to take a 13-5 lead, but Shenango once again rallied this time behind the serve of Fr. Giaona Caputo. Her serves combined with the excellent blocking of Fr. Jill Dunleavy and Reynolds saw the team rally to a 13-10 deficit. Dunleavy made her presence known from the serve line as well. She rallied the team to within 1 (16-15) and then Bortnick later tied it at 16 all with another ace of her own. Shenango once again fell behind, only to see Caputo rally them yet again to a 22-21 lead late in the set.  The two teams exchanged volleys and points to a 23-23 tie, before Shenango finally succumbed to a 25-23 defeat.

The third set saw Penn State Shenango flex its might. They exchanged points early with Beaver, before Jr. Liv Vogel led the team to a 10-6 advantage forcing Beaver to take a time out. After the timeout, Shenango continued its attack led by Vogel and Bortnick behind the line. Reynolds, Dunleavy, and Sr. Katie Richards took over the front of the net and held Beaver at bey before the Monaca squad began a rally of their own late in the set. The two teams once again found themselves tied at 15. Caputo continued her dominating night from behind the line and led Shenango to a 19-16 advantage. Bortnick and Vogel also contributed with strong serves of their own, eventually leading Shenango to a 23-19 lead. Beaver found momentum behind their own serves and a large and vocal crowd. They managed to tie the game at 24-24 all before eventually taking the two-point victory 26-24.

The Shenango Lady Lions will look to feed off the momentum and moxie they showed in this contest. They will look to improve upon their 1-6 record this coming Thursday when they return home to host Penn State Greater Allegheny at 7 pm at The F.H. Buhl Club.