Lions Sweep Celtics on Dig Pink Night
by Casey Burinskas
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team hosted Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Carlow University on Tuesday evening in the Lions' annual Dig Pink Night in support of breast cancer awareness, and the home squad swept the Celtics 3-0 in Adler Arena.
Penn State Altoona (10-11, 2-2 AMCC) won the first set in commanding fashion, 25-5, before defeating Carlow (6-14, 1-3 AMCC) in the next two sets by scores of 25-17 and 25-18.
Hannah Swank (Boswell, PA/Conemaugh Township) put up a match-high 12 points for Penn State Altoona on 10 kills and two service aces. Maggie Brewer (NuMine, PA/West Shamokin) scored nine points on nine kills, and Lia Simanski (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) also had nine points on eight kills and an ace.
At the net, Jayden Ulmer (Williamsport, PA/Williamsport) notched two solo blocks and a block assist, and Morgan Fussell (Blairsville, GA/Union County) had a solo block and block assist.
Marlo Mellish (Kittanning, PA/Armstrong) led all players in the match with 18 assists, and Julia Emel (Woodward, PA/Penns Valley) contributed 15 assists.
Ella Hadley (Spring Mills, PA/Penns Valley) totaled a match-high 20 digs.
Penn State Altoona came out strong in the opening set, dominating from the start against Carlow. After the Celtics scored an early point, the Lions took control thanks to Swank, who sparked the run with back-to-back service aces and a series of plays that helped Altoona jump ahead 6-1. From there, Simanski and Brewer found their rhythm at the net, each contributing kills to push the Lions' lead to 11-2. Ulmer followed with a pair to make it 13-3, as the Lions' offense clicked behind setting from Emel. Midway through the set, Mellish entered and kept the momentum going, assisting on multiple kills and helping the Lions maintain their lead. Altoona's defense was just as strong, with Hadley stepping up with a service ace and several steady defensive plays during a late push that saw the Lions close on a 10-0 run. Penn State Altoona soared errors from their opponent, ending the first set 25-5 to take a 1-0 match lead.
The second set was a tighter battle early on, but Altoona once again found its rhythm and pulled away for another strong finish. Trading points with Carlow to start, Kyla Campbell (Altoona, PA/Great Commission) and Brewer each recorded early kills to keep things even at 2-2. The Lions began to gain momentum behind Simanski, who delivered a kill and a service ace during a stretch that gave Altoona a 6-4 advantage. Hadley added an ace of her own and helped extend the lead to 9-6, while Swank and Campbell continued to find holes in the opposing defense to score. Mellish assisted on multiple kills from Swank and Fussell, then added a service ace of her own to make it 18-13. Brewer and Ulmer provided points to keep the Lions in front, and despite a small late push from the Celtics, Altoona stayed strong to allow Swank and Brewer to close out the set with back-to-back kills, sealing a 25-17 win to give the Lions a 2-0 match lead.
Altoona came out strong in the third set, with the Lions opening with a 5-0 run, started by Emel and an offensive attack with Campbell, Simanski, and Brewer. Their fast start forced multiple Carlow errors, including two bad sets, that gave Altoona early control. After a service error ended the streak, Brewer and Simanski helped steady the Lions with a series of kills that pushed the lead to 10-5. The momentum briefly swung back as Carlow evened the score at 12-12, then took a 14-13 lead while taking advantage of a few Altoona mistakes. With the score tight at 17-17, Altoona closed the set with a dominant 8-1 run. Hadley took over from the service line, delivering two aces and forcing multiple opponent errors, while Swank and Brewer continued to find gaps in the defense. Swank's kill made it 24-18, and Brewer sealed the set at 25-18 with one last kill assisted by Emel to end the match in a 3-0 win.
Next, the women's volleyball team will be on the road against AMCC opponent Hilbert College, where they will face off with the Hawks at 12 p.m. this Saturday, October 25.
