Posted: Oct 21, 2012
ABINGTON, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg took part in its third and final North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Crossover event this past weekend on the campus of Penn State Abington. Unfortunately for the Blue and White, the results didn't pan out the way the ladies would have liked. The Lions fell to SUNY Cobleskill 3-0 and Cazenovia 3-2 on Saturday, Oct. 20. They dropped a 3-0 decision to Keuka the very next afternoon.
In the team's first outing Saturday against the Tigers, Penn State Harrisburg was swept in three sets 25-22, 25-15 and 25-18.
Sophomore Erin Goodyear (Boiling Springs, Pa. / Boiling Springs) put up big numbers defensively with a match-high 16 digs. Beth Findley (New Providence, Pa. / Solanco) and Katie Shek (Old Bridge, N.J. / Old Bridge) added eight apiece.
Senior captain Miranda Jumper (Lebanon, Pa. / Lebanon) led the way offensively with six kills while Chidere Igwe (West Orange, N.J. / West Orange) and Olivia Umoren (Quincy, Mass. / North Quincy) chipped in with five each.
Findley and Shek, the team's setters, racked up 11 and eight assists, respectively.
The ladies fell in their final match on Saturday against the Wildcats in a much closer contest. The Lions pushed Cazenovia to five sets with the scoreboard reading 14-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-27 and 9-15.
Goodyear was again stout on defense and dug out a match-best 17 balls. Senior Michelle Pellechia (Allentown, Pa. / Catasauqua) was also strong, racking up 16 digs of her own. Sophomore Monica Bishop (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Mechanicsburg) pitched in with nine.
On the offensive side of things, Jumper and Pellechia each notched eight kills while Umoren followed them closely with seven.
Findley and Shek were again strong at the setter position as they assisted on 15 and 13 points against the Wildcats, respectively.
On Sunday, Penn State Harrisburg faced off with the second-best team in the league and dropped the match to Keuka in three sets by scores of 25-17, 25-11 and 25-12.
For the third-straight match, Goodyear led the team in digs with 15. Bishop followed closely behind her by digging out 12 balls of her own.
Findley assisted on 11 points while Shek notched six assists in the loss to the Storm.
The Lions managed 19 kills against Keuka with seven of them coming from Umoren while Bishop added six points.
The losses over the weekend dropped Penn State Harrisburg to 7-21 on the year and 1-10 in NEAC play. The Lions now have just three matches remaining in 2012 with the next one coming against Dickinson in the squad's home finale this Wednesday, Oct. 24. Prior to the match, Jumper and Pellechia will be honored during the team's senior night festivities.