READING, Pa. – The Albright Lions women's volleyball team hung tough with York before eventually falling in straight sets to the Spartans (25-17, 25-21, 25-19) on Wednesday night in MAC Commonwealth action at the Bollman Center.
 
With the loss, the Lions drop to 5-5 overall and 1-3 in MAC Commonwealth play. Meanwhile, the Spartans improve to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in conference play.
 
First-year Sophie Hampton led the Lions with a team-high seven kills on a .250 hitting percentage, and added four digs. Junior Grace Andrefski added four kills and one block, while senior Grace Serafin added three kills. First-year Paola Mejias paced the Lions offense with 13 assists and recorded a game-high 14 kills.
 
York opened the game by taking an early 3-1 lead following a pair of kills and continued to hit well early as they went up 6-3. The Spartans then won eight of the next nine points to take a commanding 11-4 advantage. York countered back-to-back Lion points by taking five of the next six points to go up 16-7 in the first set. Albright began to show some life in the first set as they won six of the next eight points and cut the York lead down to 18-13. The Lions moved as close as four points to York at 19-15 before the Spartans closed the first set out by winning six of the next eight points.
 
Albright took its first lead of the match when they went up 3-2 early in the second set, but the Spartans quickly responded with four-straight points to take a 6-3 lead. The Lions were able to rally by winning five of the next seven points to tie the score at eight, and York once again countered with a run by taking five of the next six points to take a 13-9 lead. Albright continued to battle as they took the next three points to bring the score to 13-12, but the Spartans once again had an answer by winning six of the next seven points and went up 19-13. The Lions made one last charge at the Spartans by winning six of the next eight points to make it 21-19 before York closed the set out by taking four of the last six points.
 
The Lions jumped out to an early 3-0 lead until the Spartans rattled off seven-straight points to go up 7-3. York built their lead up to 11-6 before Albright rallied to win four of the next five points to cut the Spartans lead down to two at 12-10. The Spartans were able to take command of the set and the rest of the match by winning seven of the next nine points to go up 19-12. Albright would only get close as five points during the remainder of the set.
 
Claire Shorb led the Spartans with a game-high 14 kills behind a .310 hitting percentage while Sydney Wilber added eight kills. Abby Diehl paced the Spartans offense with 17 assists and added six digs in the win.
 
Albright will return to action on Tuesday, October 12th as they will travel to take on Stevenson in MAC Commonwealth play at 7 p.m.