Box Score
The Albright College volleyball team faced crosstown rival Penn State- Berks on Thursday night in the Bollman Center, falling 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 27-25).
Junior
Christa Mantz had eight kills, 20 receptions and 20 digs for the hosts, while
Alyssa Hoogendoorn and
Brandy Blimline each had six kills and two digs. Junior setter
Morgan Heath had 20 assists and 17 digs.
The Lions trailed 6-1 in game one, but Mantz got things going with a pair of kills, and teamed with
Marisa Bartone for a block that made it 6-5 Berks.
A block assist from
Maria Pavone and
Caitlin Scroger put the Nittany Lions back up 8-5, but Heath kept that margin with a nice push kill. Albright ball-handling errors gave Berks leads of 18-12 and 22-12 however, as the visitors pulled away.
The Lions jumped out to an 8-3 advantage in the second set after a Blimline kill and a Hoogendoorn ace. Albright later led 13-8 after some good fortune allowed a Heath reception to go over the net and drop, and a Mantz ace to drop in after hitting the top of the net.
PSU-Berks rallied however, scoring four consecutive points and tying it at 17-all following two straight Lion attack errors. Coming out of a timeout, Pavone had a kill and then teamed with
Kayla Mosser for a block to put Berks in control.
It was Albright's turn to come from behind in game three. Trailing for most of the set and facing match point at 22-24, they rallied for three straight points (capped by Hoogendoorn's second ace) to nearly turn things around. Scroger's kill soon put Berks back on top however, and the Lions' final attack went into the net to end the match.
Mosser finished with 11 kills and five total blocks, while Scroger had six kills. Setter
Abby Musselman totaled 28 assists for the Nittany Lions.
Albright hosted its annual "Dig Pink" cancer fundraiser. Both teams wore special jerseys with pink designs, and a serving contest for fans was held between the second and third sets to raise money.