Heartbreak in Home Quad Match

HAZLETON, Pa. - Penn State Hazleton women's volleyball dropped two conference games on Saturday as they hosted their annual quad match in the Dr. Thomas M. Caccese Gymnasium. Penn State Beaver took the first match, 3-0, before Hazleton fell to Penn State Greater Allegheny in five sets.

Hazleton (5-15, 3-10 PSUAC) held leads in six of the eight sets they played, but couldn't finish to put opponents away. Senior Tina Beiland (Philadelphia, Pa.) had 12 kills on the day to lead Hazleton while freshman Nicole Barnes (Susquehanna, Pa.) had 34 digs over the two matches.

Match 1 - Penn State Beaver 3, Penn State Hazleton 0

Despite holding Beaver to a .089 hitting percentage, Hazleton's offense struggled even more as Beaver toppled their hosts, 3-0 (15-25, 15-25, 19-25). The Lady Lions were led by Beiland and Barnes with four kills each. Senior Miranda Dunne (Hazleton, Pa.) added 10 digs and six assists for Hazleton while Barnes added a match-high 16 digs.

Beaver gradually built a lead in the first set, first jumping out to a 5-1 advantage before Hazleton rallied to trail 10-7. Beaver used a 5-1 run to make it 15-8, but the Lady Lions answered with a 5-0 run of their own on the strength of freshman Shyan Cousins' (Mt. Vernon, NY) serve. The visitors added a 6-0 run to make it 21-13, and then finished off Hazleton with four of the next six points.

Set two nearly mirrored the first, as Beaver built another 5-1 lead before Hazleton cut it to 8-6 after two service aces from sophomore Hailey Trasacco (Hamden, Ct.). A 7-2 Beaver rally made it 15-8, and although Hazleton was able to cut the deficit to four on two separate occasions, they would never get closer as an 8-2 Beaver run finished the set for a 2-0 lead.

It looks as though Hazleton would grab the third set as they jumped out to a 9-0 lead as Dunne served from the beginning. An ace was part of the onslaught as well as a kill from Beiland. After two Beaver points, a four-point run for Hazleton made it 13-2. Then Beaver got hot, taking the next seven points and 15 of the next 16 to take a 17-14 lead. The flurry was too much as Hazleton was unable to answer, ultimately falling 25-19 in what was the final set.

Morgan Cannister and Amanda Mike had double digit kills to lead Beaver with 11 and 10, respectively. Roxy Kie dished out a match-best 24 assists.

Match 2: Penn State Greater Allegheny 3, Penn State Hazleton 2

Hazleton built advantages in four of the five sets they played, but could only hold on for two set wins against Penn State Greater Allegheny as they fell 3-2 (25-13, 23-25, 25-21, 18-25, 7-15). Beiland had a season-best eight kills plus 16 digs and Dunne added eight more assists on the day to go along with 17 digs. Cousins had a career-high 23 digs to set the standard for the match, while Barnes added 18.

The Lady Lions grabbed an early lead in set one, and although Greater Allegheny kept it within two for much of the early going, Hazleton stretched out the lead over the middle portion to take an 17-11 lead. Greater Allegheny would muster only two more points in the set before Hazleton rattled off five straight to end the first set, 25-13.

Hazleton built another lead in set two, going up 5-1 early before once again holding a 17-11 advantage. Up 21-12, it looked as though the hosts would grab an 2-0 set lead but Greater Allegheny had other plans. Four straight points made it 21-16, and despite two Hazleton points, including a service ace from Cousins, Greater Allegheny finished the set with nine straight points to rally and even the score at one set apiece.

Greater Allegheny kept the momentum early in set three, racing out to a 4-1 lead. Hazleton would rally back and finally take the lead at 13-12 after exchanging points throughout the early going. After GA took two straight to regain the advantage, Hazleton used a 6-0 run to make it 19-14. The teams traded points the rest of the way as Hazleton prevailed 25-21 to give themselves a 2-1 set lead.

Set four was back and forth early, seeing two ties and six lead changes in the first 17 points. GA used a 7-0 run to make it 15-8 and despite Hazleton taking five of the next seven points, the Lady Lions couldn't rally enough to make the comeback as GA knotted the match at 2-2.

The deciding set saw four early ties as Beiland and Trasacco each had kills that would tie the score. Tied at six, GA used a 6-0 run to make it 12-6 and grab what would become an insurmountable lead, ultimately winning 15-7 and taking the match, 3-2.

Dorina Adou and Emily Taylor shared the offense with 13 kills apiece for Greater Allegheny, and Courtney Odell-Shadd had a match-best 36 assists. Laura Vazquez-Diaz added a team-high 22 digs to go with 11 kills for GA.

Next Up

Hazleton travels to Penn State Lehigh Valley on Sunday, October 16th for a quad match at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. The Lady Lions, who have been eliminated from playoff contention, will face Penn State New Kensington and Penn State Fayette in what will be their season finale.