Hazleton splits 10 sets in season opener at Lackawanna College

Scranton, Pa. - The Penn State Hazleton Women's Volleyball team kicked off their season on Saturday, competing in a tri-match at Lackawanna College. Hazleton found themselves involved in a pair of tough battles, ultimately coming away with a split on the day. Hazleton fell to the home team Lackawanna College in game one, fading in the fifth set to lose 3-2 but came away with a 3-2 win over Cecil College in the second game of the afternoon. 

Game one: Penn State Hazleton 2, Lackawanna College 3 - Final

Hazleton came out roaring early, but this match would be a true back and forth contest. After a pulling off a 25-20 win in set one, Hazleton dropped set two by just a two-point margin as the Falcons knotted the match at 1-1 despite 14 kills in the second frame by the Lions. A convincing 25-15 win in set three had Lackawanna College looking to put the Lions away but Hazleton responded in set four as Kaytlin Kelley, Jazmyne Bates and Nora Jones provided a spark for the Lions with three kills a piece in the stanza. Hazleton took set four by the score of 25-20 and looked to carry that momentum into the final set of the season opener, but once again Lackawanna bounced back with a solid run offensively, taking the tiebreaker set 15-12. 

Second year players Kelley and Jones led Hazleton in the loss with double-digit kills. Kelley finished the game with 10 kills and four solo blocks while Jones racked up 11 kills and 16 digs. Second year player Sophia Del Vacchio set her way to 42 assists, helping Hazleton to a solid first outing despite the loss. 

Game two: Penn State Hazleton 3, Cecil College 2 - Final

The Lions got off to a slow start following the tough-luck loss to Lackawanna. It wasn't until set two until the Nittany Lions began to heat up in this one. Trailing 1-0, Hazleton reeled off nine kills in the second frame, with zero hitting errors, knotting the game at one set a piece with a 25-11 win in set number two. The Lions continued to roll, going up two sets to one as Kelley tallied four kills to go along with four kills from first year player Claire Riera-Gomez, claiming set three by the score of 25-21. Just when it looked as though Hazleton might escape their second straight five-set match, Cecil College responded with a convincing win in set four, seeing Hazleton struggle on the attack with eight errors in the frame. Cecil College then went on to pull ahead in the tie-breaker, opening up a 12-8 advantage but service error late in the action flipped the momentum as the Lions stormed back with seven of the next eight points to claim the win. 

Kelley was dominant at the net in game two, totaling 16 kills on 33 attempts with one block to her credit. Riera-Gomez notched eight kills, 18 digs and four service aces, completing a solid debut for the first-year athlete while Jazmyne Bates totaled seven kills and 16 digs respectively.

Hazleton will host Keystone College on Thursday, September 5 in the Dr. Thomas M. Caccese Gymnasium as they continue non-conference play to start the season.