by Casey Burinskas

BRADFORD, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team was downed 3-1 by Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Bradford on Saturday afternoon, after a neck-and-neck match that ended in four sets.

Pitt-Bradford (15-6, 1-0 AMCC) pulled out a 27-25 win in the first set, before Penn State Altoona (8-11, 0-2 AMCC) answered with a commanding 25-13 victory in the second set to tie the match at 1-1. But the Panthers countered with a 25-15 win in the third, then took the match with a 26-24 victory in the fourth.

Hannah Swank (Boswell, PA/Conemaugh Township) scored a match-high 18.5 points for Penn State Altoona on 15 kills, three service aces, and a block assist, and she also tied for the team lead in digs with 13. Lia Simanski (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) contributed 13 points on 10 kills, two aces, and two block assists while also tallying 12 digs.

Jayden Ulmer (Williamsport, PA/Williamsport) brought 7.5 points on three solo blocks, three block assists, and three kills, and Kyla Campbell (Altoona, PA/Great Commission) chipped in 6.5 points on three kills, three block assists, and a pair of service aces.

Marlo Mellish (Kittanning, PA/Armstrong) totaled 13 assists to go along with 11 digs and three aces, and Julia Emel (Woodward, PA/Penns Valley) put up 12 assists.

Ella Hadley (Spring Mills, PA/Penns Valley) tied for the team-high digs total with 13.

Both teams traded points early, with kills from Swank and Maggie Brewer (NuMine, PA/West Shamokin) keeping Altoona in step with the Panthers. Pitt-Bradford service errors and a block from Swank and Ulmer helped the Lions take the lead at 6-4. Pitt-Bradford responded with a small run, but Altoona continued to battle back, using kills from Johanna Heckman (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis), Swank, Campbell, and Brewer to stay close. Midway through the set, Hadley and Swank sparked a four-point run that gave Altoona an 18-17 advantage, forcing Pitt-Bradford into a timeout. The Lions continued to persevere out of the break, with Campbell and Swank adding kills to keep the score close. In the final stretch, both teams exchanged set points back and forth. Simanski delivered a kill to tie it at 25-25, but Pitt-Bradford soared on a pair of kills to edge out the set at 27-25.

The Lions started off strong in the second set with Swank serving, as she delivered back-to-back aces and helped Altoona jump out to an early 5-0 lead. Campbell followed with a service ace of her own during a 9-1 run that forced an early Pitt–Bradford timeout. The Lions stayed in control, with Brewer, Simanski, and Ulmer each contributing kills at the net. Ulmer and Simanski's kills, along with Mellish's ace, extended Altoona's lead to 14-2. The Lions' front line took over midway through the set, as Morgan Fussell (Blairsville, GA/Union County) and Ulmer combined for multiple blocks that unsettled the Panthers offense. Swank and Simanski scored back-to-back kills to make it 23-13, and Emel ended the set off by recording a service ace to seal a 25-13 win.

The third set began evenly, with Campbell recording the Lions' first kill off an assist from Emel, and Emel later delivering a kill of her own to trim an early Pitt-Bradford lead to 3-2. Simanski and Swank each added kills through the opening rallies, but Pitt-Bradford began to separate with a line of points to pull ahead 10-7. Despite a few errors by Pitt–Bradford and a block from Campbell and Simanski, the Lions struggled to stop the Panthers, who used a 7-0 run to go ahead 17-10. Altoona called a timeout to regroup but had trouble finding a consistent rhythm. Simanski and Swank responded with kills to cut the score to 20-14, and Jadeyn Price (Altoona, PA/Altoona) made an impact at the net with a block alongside Campbell that slowed the Panthers' momentum. However, Pitt-Bradford closed strong by getting three consecutive kills, sealing the set 25-15 and putting them up 2-1.

The Lions fell behind early in the fourth set after a string of tough serves from Pitt-Bradford that gave the home team a 3-0 lead. Kills by Simanski and Heckman helped keep Altoona close, and back-to-back service aces by Simanski put the Lions up by two, 9-7. Hadley's ace increased Altoona's advantage to three points, 11-8. Midway through the set, Ulmer had two key blocks that flipped the momentum and tied the score at 17-17, and Swank recorded another kill on an assist from Mellish to put the Lions ahead by one, forcing Pitt-Bradford to call a timeout. Later, with Altoona ahead 22-19, the Panthers closed the gap to 22-21 before a Campbell kill gave the Lions a 23-21 lead. Pitt-Bradford tied the score at 23-23, but Swank's kill put Altoona back in front, 24-23. However, Pitt-Bradford took advantage of late errors to score the next three points, pulling out a 26-24 win in the set and handing the Lions a 3-1 match loss.

Next, the women's volleyball team will look to regroup next Saturday, October 18 at 12 p.m. against AMCC opponent Alfred State College. The Lions will hold their Senior Day before that day's match.