by Christina Roukas

CARLISLE, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team lost two matches on Saturday against Lebanon Valley College, 3-1 (25-17, 28-26, 20-25, 25-19), and Dickinson College, 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-18), during a tri-match at Dickinson's Kline Center.

Match One: Lebanon Valley 3, Penn State Altoona 1

The Lions' first match was against the Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen (4-3). In the first set, Lacee Barnhart (Bellefonte, PA/Bald Eagle) scored an ace to make it 3-1, and Lydia Mock (Alum Bank, PA/Chestnut Ridge) scored a kill to tie the match, 6-6. Barnhart broke the tie and put the Lions in the lead with a kill, 7-6. After Lebanon Valley jumped ahead by four, Mock's hit off a Dutchman block lowered the Penn State Altoona (2-7) deficit to three, 16-13. However, the Dutchmen took a seven-point advantage against the Lions, 20-13. Mock scored a tip to make it 22-15, and Taylor Kilmer (Julian, PA/Bald Eagle) got a kill with a hit off the block to make it 23-16. A back row hit from Mock kept her team within seven, 24-17, but the Dutchmen won the first set, 25-17.

In the second set, a Kayla Moran (Boalsburg, PA/State College) ace gave Penn State Altoona the lead, 2-1, and the Lions proceeded to continue on a point-scoring streak, opening their lead up to 6-1. But the Dutchmen came back to tie the match, 6-6, then take the lead on the next point. Kills from Barnhart and Mock put Penn State Altoona back in front, 8-7, and the Lions continued to hold a tight lead, eventually clinging to an 18-17 advantage. Taylor Myers (Morrisdale, PA/West Branch) put up a solo block to extend to the Lions' lead to 20-17, but Lebanon Valley worked its way back to tie the match once again, 22-22. Barnhart answered with a back row hit to break the tie, 23-22. But after a back-and-forth battle, Lebanon Valley won the second set 28-26.

The third set started with an early tie, following Mock's hit off the block that knotted the score at 3-3. A back row hit for a kill from Mock put Penn State Altoona in the lead on the next point, and Barnhart's kill increased her team's lead to 10-7. A cross-court hit by Barnhart extended the Lions' advantage to 19-16, and Myers scored a kill to make it 21-18. Kilmer scored the set point with a kill, and the Lions won the third set 25-20.

Moran switched it up with a dump over the net, scoring the first point of set four. However, Lebanon Valley came back with a strong rally to establish a 15-point lead against the Lions, 19-4. Mock's ace made it 19-7, and Kilmer's kill kept the Lions alive, 20-8. A duo block from Myers and Morgan Fussell (Blairsville, GA/Union County) lowered the deficit to seven, 22-15, and Myers scored back-to-back points on a kill and an ace to trim the Lions' deficit to 23-17. But the valiant comeback attempt was not enough to win the set, as Lebanon Valley won the set 25-19 and the match 3-1.

Barnhart led the Lions with 16 points on a team-high 14 kills, and she also had 17 digs and two service aces. Mock contributed 15 points on 13 kills and two aces to go along with 15 digs, while Myers had 10.5 points on five kills, a team-best three aces, three block assists, and one solo block.

Erin Lutz (State College, PA/State College) led Penn State Altoona in digs with 20, and Anna Batrus (Altoona, PA/Altoona) totaled eight digs.

Moran tallied 31 assists while adding 10 digs, three kills, and an ace.

Kilmer chipped in three kills, Fussell had three block assists, and Makenna Port (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) recorded one solo block.

Match Two: Dickinson 3, Penn State Altoona 0

Penn State Altoona's second and last match of the day came against the host of the tri-match, the Dickinson Red Devils (5-2).

After Dickinson started the first set with a 4-0 run, Mock's hit and Moran's dump over for kills put the Lions on the board, 5-2. After the Red Devils took a six-point lead, Mock scored another kill on a hit down the line, and Barnhart's kill kept the Penn State Altoona deficit at five, 10-5. Barnhart's kill on a back row hit made it 15-11, and Kilmer's kill brought the Lions to within two, 17-15. But Penn State Altoona was unable to get over the hump, as Dickinson held its lead the rest of the way and won the set 25-22.

The home team worked its way out to an 18-10 advantage in the second set and went on to lead by as many as 10 points. Penn State Altoona got late kills from Port, Mock, Barnhart, and Myers, but the Red Devils ended the set by a comfortable margin, winning it 25-15.

In the third set, the score was tied 3-3 early before Dickinson went on a 12-4 run to establish a 15-7 lead. With the Red Devils up by nine points later, Penn State Altoona scored four straight points on kills from Fussell and Mock, an ace from Barnhart, and a setting error to narrow the Dickinson advantage to 20-15. But the Red Devils answered by scoring the next three straight points to widen their lead to eight, and Dickinson claimed a 25-18 victory in the third set to sweep the Lions in the match.

Barnhart scored a team-high 10.5 points on eight kills, two aces, and one block assist while also accumulating eight digs. Mock had 10 points on a team-best 10 kills to go along with six digs, and Myers had 9.5 points on seven kills, two aces, and one block assist.

Moran notched 25 assists and six digs, and she also had two kills, as did Kilmer and Fussell.

Lutz posted a team-high 13 digs.

Next up, the Lions will play at home in Adler Arena next Wednesday, September 21 against non-conference opponent Gettysburg College. The match is set to start at 6:30 p.m.