READING, Pa. – The Albright women's volleyball team was defeated 3-1 (18-25, 26-24, 25-27, 19-25) by Alvernia on Wednesday night in MAC Commonwealth action.
 
With the loss, the Lions drop to 5-8 overall and 1-5 in MAC Commonwealth action. Meanwhile, the Golden Wolves improve to 8-12 overall and 1-5 in conference play.
 
Senior Brooke Franklin led the Lions with a career-high 12 kills and a team-high .346 hitting percentage. First-year Rhianna Betley added nine kills and classmate Sophie Hampton matched her with nine kills and six digs. Senior Grace Serafin posted eight kills, five digs, and a team-high three aces. First-year Paola Mejias paced the Lions offense with 37 assists and added 12 digs, while senior Kaitlyn Chell tallied a game-high 20 digs.
 
After each team recorded back-to-back points to open the first set, the Golden Wolves took six of the next seven points to take an 8-3 lead. Albright won four of the next five points to pull within two at 9-7, but Alvernia struck back by taking six of the next nine points to go up 15-10. The Lions rallied to get within three points at 18-15 before the Golden Wolves finally took control of the set by taking five of the next six points to go up 23-16. The teams traded the next few points until Alvernia won its 25th point on a kill.
 
Albright started strong in the second set by taking an early 3-1 advantage behind a pair of kills. The Golden Wolves moved within one point at 5-4 before the Lions won four of the next six points to take a 9-6 lead. After Alvernia moved within two points at 10-8, Albright responded by taking five of the next six points to go up 15-9. Albright took its largest lead of the set at 17-10 following an ace from sophomore Stephanie Zolynski, but the Golden Wolves stormed back by winning six-straight points to cut the lead down to 17-16. The Lions responded by taking three-straight points to go up 20-16 before the Golden Wolves reeled off seven-straight points and went up 23-20. Albright countered with three-straight points to tie the score at 23, and rallied to win the set at 26-24 after Alvernia moved to set point at 24-23.
 
The Lions once again went up 3-1 to open the third set and worked its way out to a 6-3 advantage. Albright responded to a pair of Alvernia points to go up 8-5 before the Golden Wolves took three of the next four points to make it a 9-8 contest in the third set. A kill from Betley put the Lions up 11-9, but the Golden Wolves countered with six-straight points to take a 16-11 advantage. Albright responded with three-straight points to cut the deficit down to 16-14, and eventually worked the lead down to 19-17 after a pair of kills from senior Bryana Chambers. Alvernia went back up four points at 21-17 before the Lions rallied to tie the set at 22 after winning five of the next six points. The set went into extra points again after the teams traded back-to-back points. However, it was the Golden Wolves that came out on top this time by winning three of the final four points in the set.
 
Alvernia continued its momentum from the win in the third set by opening up on fire in the fourth set with a 6-1 lead. The Golden Wolves moved its lead out to 11-4, and fended off a Lions rally by going up 15-9 after Albright made it a 12-8 contest in the fourth set. The Lions made a charge at the Golden Wolves by winning five of the next seven points to pull within three points at 17-14. However, Alvernia responded by taking six of the next seven points to go up 23-15. The Lions won four-straight points to stay alive at 23-19, but the Golden Wolves slammed the door on the rally by winning the final two points of the set.
 
Rachel Sipling registered a game-high 22 kills and added 11 digs for the Golden Wolves. Olivia Frutiger and Elizabeth Gillespie each tallied 11 kills, while Deanna Klunk posted a team-high 21 assists to pace the Alvernia offense.
 
The Lions return to action on Saturday, October 23rd as they will travel to face Cedar Crest in non-conference action at 10 a.m.