Lions fall in five to Wilkes University

Hazleton, Pa. - The Penn State Hazleton Women's Volleyball hosted Wilkes University on Tuesday. The Lions fought hard to the very end but fell short 3-2.

Hazleton was off to a slow start, but the Lions clawed their way back into the frame after a five point run at the service line late in set. Unfortunately for the Hazleton squad, the Colonels reeled off six straight points to close out the set and leave the Lions in chase mode for the remainder of the evening. Hazleton responded in set two, thanks in part to three late kills by third year player Sydney Mack to knot match at 1-1 but a 10-1 deficit to start off set three proved too much to overcome as Hazleton once again fell behind in the match. 

Hazleton took advantage of Wilkes mistakes to begin the fourth set to give them to the early lead. The Lions and Colonels were back and forth keeping the score tied for most of the set but in the end, Hazleton finished the fourth set on a 9-2 run to even up the contest at two sets apiece. 

In the last set, Hazleton overcame a pair of costly errors battling the Colonels to a 15-15 stalemate, but the Colonels pulled together for the last two point needed to secure the win with a 17-15 victory in the fifth frame. Hazleton's Sydney Mack touted a season high 21 kills in the match, with first year player Claire Riera-Gomez notching a season-best 14 kills in support.

The Penn State Women's Volleyball squad will travel to Penn State Lehigh Valley for their next match. The game will be Wednesday September 11th at 7:00 p.m.