MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – After dropping four North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) matches over the weekend, Penn State Harrisburg bounced back nicely by downing Penn State York 25-14 in three-straight sets in front of a hometown crowd at the Capital Union Building on Tuesday night, Oct. 9.
The hometown team jumped out to a 14-8 lead and Penn State York burned its first timeout. The break did not rattle Erin Goodyear (Boiling Spring, Pa. / Boiling Springs) as the sophomore got a free-ball over the net to make it 15-8. Junior Chidere Igwe (West Orange, N.J. / West Orange) used a ferocious kill to make it 16-9 and freshman Olivia Umoren (Quincy, Mass. / North Quincy) recorded a kill of her own and increased the advantage to 20-10. The visitors were unable to handle Michelle Pellechia's (Allentown, Pa. / Catasauqua) final serve that clinched the first set.
The blue and white gained the early lead again in set number two and forced Penn State York to call another timeout trailing 8-1.
The volley of the night came with the ladies leading 11-8. The teams traded the ball back and forth over the net nearly 30 times before sophomore Jess Sinex (Oxford, Pa. / Oxford) ended the impressive exchange with a kill.
Igwe used another powerful kill to increase the advantage to 15-9 and Beth Findley's (New Providence, Pa. / Solanco) service ace put the Lions up 20-9. From there, the ladies cruised to a second-set victory.
The home team nabbed a 4-1 lead to begin the final set during senior captain Miranda Jumper's (Lebanon, Pa. / Lebanon) service period. Goodyear made another thrilling play by picking up a point with an over-the-shoulder volley on a free-ball that made it 12-8 Penn State Harrisburg. Back-to-back aces by Courtney Dimmig (Elizabethtown, Pa. / Elizabethtown) kept things rolling at 23-12 before the Lions finished York off and sealed the victory.
Igwe led the team in kills with eight. Pellechia and Umoren added four apiece while Goodyear had a huge night defensively and recorded 19 kills. Findley assisted on 18 points while Katie Shek (Old Bridge, N.J. / Old Bridge) added seven assists of her own.
The latest victory improved the ladies' record to 7-14 on the year, already matching the team's win total of a year ago.
Penn State Harrisburg will look to add to the win column in the team's next match on Thursday, Oct. 11 when the Lions travel to Williamsport to take on Penn College.