Women's Volleyball captures 1st PSUAC Championship in program history!

State College, Pa. - It was a history-making night for the Hazleton Nittany Lions on Tuesday evening in Rec Hall as the women's volleyball program broke through for their first Penn State University Athletic Conference Championship with a 3-1 win over defending champion, Penn State Mont Alto. The Nittany Lions started slowly, falling in the first set by a score of 25-21 but flipped the script to win three straight frames to close out the match. 

A 9-2 run by the reigning champions put Hazleton on their heels early in the match although once the opening jitters subsided, Hazleton looked like the team who won the PSUAC East Division with a 9-1 conference record. The Lions clawed back to within two points of Mont Alto late in the first set but the early deficit proved to be too much of a cushion for the Mont Alto squad who surged back ahead for a 24-17 advantage. A pair of kills by fourth year Rebecca Dzuranin and one from second year Lindsey Barron helped the Lions reel off four straight until a kill from Mont Alto's Leslie Huckle closed out the frame 25-21 to give the defending champs a 1-0 advantage in the match. 

There would be no more sluggish starts for the Lions as Hazleton ramped up the intensity at the net, from the service line, and on the defensive end for the remainder of the match. The two squads went back and forth in set number two and Hazleton inched their way to a four point lead midway through the stanza following a pair of kills from third year player Sydney Mack. Mont Alto bounced back to score five of the next six points to regain the lead at 15-13 but the Lions benefitted from three straight hitting errors by Mont Alto and kills by second year setter Sophia Del Vacchio and and second year Sarah Ballek to retake the lead 20-16. First year Claire Riera-Gomez and second year Kaytlin Kelley registered kills down the stretch and Riera-Gomez closed out the frame with a service ace as Hazleton evened the match at one set a piece. 

As the game progressed, Hazleton took advantage of several hitting errors by the Mont Alto squad to build a lead in the third set.The Lions created separation late in the frame when Claire Riera-Gomez struck for a side-out kill and then proceeded to reel off five straight service aces that put Hazleton on top 20-10. Kills by Kaytlin Kelley, Sydney Mack, and Sarah Ballek helped the Lions bully their way to a set-point, and fittingly, Ballek closed out a win in set three with Hazleton's seventh ace of the frame.

It all came down to set number four. Hazleton survived an early run by Mont Alto, rebounding with kills from Dzuranin and Mack to go along with a pair of aces from Del Vacchio to keep the Lions within one point of the Mont Alto squad. Hazleton went up by as many as four points in the frame but this one would come down to the wire. With the score 13-9 in favor of Hazleton, Mont Alto battled back for the first of seven ties over the next 16 plays but with the score knotted at 19, a kill by Kaytin Kelley and two aces from Ballek helped the Lions regain momentum but even that would be short-lived as Mont Alto squared the match once again with two kills by Elizabeth Trella and timely service ace. But a costly attack error by the defending champs gave Hazleton the edge at 24-23 and in the midst of long rally, Hazleton's Kaytlin Kelley and Sydney Mack stuffed a Mont Alto attack, falling in for the game winning point as Hazleton took the thrilling fourth frame 25-23, the match 3-1 and the PSUAC Championship. 

In a landmark game for the Lions, Hazleton's service game really stood out in the championship. Riera-Gomez totaled a game-high seven aces, followed by Ballek with five and Del Vacchio with three as Hazleton won that battle over Mont Alto 17-5. Sydney Mack proved why she's the Eastern Division Player of the Year, leading Hazleton in the contest with 16 kills to along with three block assists and 17 digs. Kelley added three block assists as well but also made her mark at the net with her fourth double-digit kill effort of the season, notching 12 in the finale while Rebecca Dzuranin and Riera-Gomez pitched in with seven and six kills respectively. Dzuranin, Barron and second year Libero Nora Jones were electric on the defensive side with numerous diving plays to keep Mont Alto off the scoreboard. Dzuranin totaled 16 digs and Barron totaled 11 in the win with Jones leading the squad with 21 saves. All three played a huge role in getting the ball to Del Vacchio who dished out all but two of Hazleton's 51 assists on the evening. 

Tuesday night's win confirmed why the Lions had four players named to the 1st team in the PSUAC East and serves as a defining moment for the program and the coaching staff of Kaufman and Fallabel. The Nittany Lions have punched their ticket to the USCAA Division II Volleyball Championships and will now await their seeding and first opponent for the National Tournament to be held at the Penn State Fayette Campus from November 7-9.