Hazleton falls in USCAA finale to Kent State Tuscarawas

Uniontown, Pa. - The Hazleton Nittany Lions lost a heartbreaker on Saturday night. After winning three straight games in the USCAA Championships and 11 straight games overall, the Nittany Lions fell to to Kent State Tuscarawas in the USCAA Championship game by a score of 3-0 after defeating Kent State earlier in the tournament. Needless to say the Lions were disappointed in the result but it was a brilliant run in the months of October and November, seeing Hazleton capture their first ever PSUAC title, their first berth in the USCAA National Tournament and a runner finish to end the season as the number two team in the country in USCAA Division II Women's Volleyball. 

The first set of the night was as close as can be and proved to be the most important frame of the match. Both teams had small runs throughout and third year Sydney Mack was red hot early with five kills to her credit but it was neck and neck to the end. A kill by second year Sarah Ballek was followed by back to back blocks from fourth year Rebecca Dzuranin and second year Kaytlin Kelley to give the Lions a 21-20 advantage but the Golden Eagles responded with four straight points of their own, putting Hazleton back on their heels. But Hazleton would bounce right back, getting a pair of kills from second year Lindsey Barron and two miscues from Kent State to retake the lead at 25-24. Kent State went from having three set points, to facing their own defeat, but the Golden Eagles rallied out of a time out to score two straight points to retake command. Once again, Hazleton got a pivotal kill from Barron to knot the score at 26-26 but Kent State got back to back kills from Elizabeth Keller and Rylee Sensabaugh to close out the contested frame and take the 1-0 advantage in the match. 

From that point on, Kent State seemed to have all the momentum on their side. Serves were tough to handle, sets were on point to the Golden Eagle hitters and attacks were finding the smallest of cracks in the Hazleton defense. Kent State rolled through set number two with 18 kills and two service aces in the frame, cruising past Hazleton for a 2-0 lead. Hazleton battled through set number three but an early 9-1 run by the Golden Eagles proved to be too much to overcome. Hazleton survived long rallies and got to within six points of Kent State late in the frame but could never quite get the offense going after the loss in first frame, ultimately falling to the Golden Eagles 25-17 to fall in straight sets. 

After 16 kills in the first frame, Hazleton managed just 13 kills in the final two sets, compared to 33 in the final sets for the Kent State squad. That effort by the Golden Eages kept the Lions on the defensive after the first frame. Hazleton did well to keep the ball alive but in turn, Kent State got more and more offensive opportunities in the form of 144 attacks. Jailiegh Price led all hitters in the game with 15 kills on 27 attacks, followed by Mackenzie Neininger with 12 kills and Elizabeth Keller with nine scores. Leading the Lions was Sydney Mack who tallied 11 kills with one service ace. Kaytlin Kelley added six kills and 3.5 blocks while second year setter Sophia Del Vacchio led Hazleton with 25 assists. 

Hazleton comes up short in the finale but it was a record setting season for the Lions nonetheless. Mack topped 400 kills on the year and had Hazleton had four players top the 100 kill mark, including Kelley with 192, Ballek with 157 and first year hitter Claire Riera-Gomez with 125 who also added 64 service aces in 29 matches. Del Vacchio led the USCAA with 8.49 assists per set totaling 959 assists this year while second year libero Nora Jones totaled 588 digs for the season. Those efforts combined with the all-around play of Rebecca Dzuranin who had 86 kills and 346 digs and Lindsey Barron who notched 73 kills and 270 digs made for the greatest season to date in program history. With the potential four to five starters returning in 2025, look for the Lions to continue to be contender for titles in the coming years.