ST. MARY'S, Md. - Penn State Harrisburg's women's volleyball team picked up crucial conference victories over United East foes St. Mary's (Md.) and Penn State Abington on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 17. The Lions handled the hosts in four sets in their opener before sweeping Penn State Abington in their final match of the day. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Penn State Harrisburg (15-7, 3-1 United East) went 2-0 in tri-match play on Sunday afternoon, defeating the hometown Seahawks (5-10, 0-2 United East) in four sets by scores of 25-18, 17-25, 25-18, and 25-16 before sweeping Penn State Abington (9-13, 0-3 United East) by set scores of 25-15, 25-20, and 25-19.  

Against St. Mary's (Md.), the Blue & White used a 12-2 run to take the opening set before dropping the second game to the hosts. The visitors responded in the third, scoring four consecutive points to end the set, capped off by a Melanie Sheaffer kill from a Megan Morris feed. The Lions turned it on down the stretch in the fourth and final set, putting together an 8-1 run to blow it open in crunch time. Sheaffer closed it out with a service ace to take the set and the match.  

In the nightcap against Penn State Abington, Penn State Harrisburg used a 6-0 run finished off by an Alyssa Snyder service ace to take control of the opening set before running away with it to grab an early advantage. Things were tighter in the second set. With the score tied at 13-13, the Lions kept Penn State Abington from tallying back-to-back points until the score was more in hand. Tori Henderson put the finishing touches on the game with a kill off a feed from Snyder. Set three was also tied 13-13 at the midway point but the Blue & White manufactured a 7-2 run to close things out. Sheaffer wrapped up the set and the match with another kill off a Snyder pass to complete the tri-match sweep.  

NOTABLES 

- The Lions have been heating up as of late, winning nine of their last 11 matches. 

- Melanie Sheaffer racked up a match-high 15 kills in the opener. Cheyanna Buckingham had nine and Anna Ruff added six.  

- Alyssa Snyder tallied 35 assists and 16 digs against St. Mary's (Md.). Megan Morris added 14 digs, while Olivia Koicuba chipped in with 11. 

- Morris and Corrinne Cook each had three service aces against the Seahawks.  

- Tiniira Tubo recorded five block assists in the first match, while Buckingham had three of her own. 

- Against Penn State Abington, Tori Henderson notched a match-high 12 kills, Sheaffer had 10, Buckingham added nine, and Ruff finished with eight. 

- Henderson dug out nine attacks in the second outing, Cook had eight digs, and Morris chipped in with seven. 

- Alyssa Snyder racked up 39 assists against Penn State Abington. 

- Tubo recorded a team-high four aces in the nightcap, with Morris adding three of her own. 

WHO'S NEXT? 

The Lions return to the Capital Union Building to host Goucher for a non-conference match on Wednesday night, Oct. 20. First serve is set for 7 p.m. 

STAY CONNECTED

Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook using the handle @pshbgathletics.