Lady Lions sweep Greater Allegheny, 3-0

By: Matylda Zamudio

MONACA, Pa.— The Penn State Beaver women's volleyball team fended off Penn State Greater Allegheny from pushing the team down to third in the PSUAC Western ranking with a 3-0 victory Tuesday night in the final conference bout at home for the regular season.

Set one was a battle from the start, with the teams going back-and-forth on scoring until Greater Allegheny built a 14-11 lead, which prompted Beaver to call a time-out. But the Lady Lions tied at 20-20 on a service ace by sophomore Kelsie Hallum (Hopewell) and again at 23-23 on two back-to-back kills by freshman Priscilla Medal (Naples/Lorenzo Walker Tech). In the last rally, sophomore Ramiya White (Westland/Wayne Memorial) reflected a hit by Greater Allegheny to take a 26-24 win in the first.

The Lady Lions had a strong start in the second set and built an early 10-6, forcing Greater Allegheny to call a time-out. Beaver pulled ahead by 7 points thanks to back-to-back kills by senior Amanda Mike (Hopewell) midway through the set (15-8). Down the stretch, Mike got a late kill to put it at match-point and then took a 25-16 win the set two after a Greater Allegheny player hit the ball into the net, giving the Lady Lions a two-set advantage heading into the final set. 

The teams played another close contest with Greater Allegheny making an early 7-1 run to open the set. But the Lady Lions clawed their way back to tie the game at 15-15 and then again at 20-20. But Beaver stayed locked-in with sophomore Maria Slater (Houston/Elsik) dealing the final blow with a kill in the final rally (25-22) and take a 3-0 conference win with the Lady Lions.

Mike led the offense with 14 kills, two service aces and six digs followed by Medal, who finished with 10 kills of her own, one assist and four digs. Sophomore Heaven Bowman (Houston/Dulles) also led the team in service aces, finishing with four, as well as seven digs. On defense, sophomore Cheyenne Sherman (Wellsboro/Wellsboro Area) led with eight digs. Hallum also had an impactful performance tonight 40 assists.

After today's win, Beaver improves to (16-7) overall for the regular season and is tied for second place in the west with Greater Allegheny at 7-3 in the PSUAC conference standings. 

The Lady Lions will host Mercyhurst Northeast University this Thursday, Oct. 17, for senior night. The game is slated for 7 p.m.