Hazleton back in the win column at Penn State Berks

Reading, Pa. - The Hazleton women's volleyball team surged past Penn State Berks on Monday afternoon, getting back to a .500 winning percentage with their seventh win of the season. Hazleton trailed Berks in the kill total on Monday, but a solid service attack combined with a number of errors from the home squad Berks, gave the Lions enough lift to move past the NCAA III squad in straight sets. 

Trailing 8-10 in set one, Hazleton took advantage of a Berks service error to reel off six straight points behind the serve of fourth year Rebecca Dzuranin. The Lions got two aces from Dzuranin and kills from first year Claire Riera-Gomez and second year Kaytlin Kelley to move ahead 14-10 and the Lions never looked back. 16 of the next 20 points went in favor of Hazleton and the Lions held off a late rally from Berks to win the set 25-17. 

Hazleton continued their strong effort at the start of set two, cruising to an 11-4 advantage that included three aces and kills from Dzuranin, Kelley, second year Sophia Del Vacchio and third year Sydney Mack. Berks crept to within three points of Hazleton but the Lions responded with an 8-1 run that put Berks in a double-digit deficit as Hazleton went on to win 25-16 in the second frame and take a 2-0 lead into the third. There, Berks rallied to take a 12-10 lead and looked to force a fourth set with the Nittany Lions until a 7-2 run by Hazleton that included kills from Kelley and second years Sarah Ballek and Lindsey Barron flipped the script and propelled Hazleton to a 25-20 win in the final frame.

Kelley was a difference maker at the net on Monday, totaling a team-high seven kills with two block assists to her credit. Sydney Mack added five kills in the win with Del Vacchio dishing out 21 assists and three service aces. In total, the Lions racked up 12 aces on the day to help earn the victory. 

Next up for Hazleton is an important conference match against Penn State York as the Lions look to keep the pace in the PSUAC East. Hazleton will host York at 7:00 p.m. in the Dr. Thomas M. Caccese Gymnasium on Thursday, September 26.