MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - Penn State Harrisburg's women's volleyball team overcame a slow start and reeled off three straight set victories in a 3-1 win over Mount Aloysius at the Capital Union Building on Thursday night, Sept. 14. After dropping the first set 25-21, the Lions (5-3) responded with 28-26, 25-20, and 25-13 set victories to earn their second win in a row. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Penn State Harrisburg stumbled a bit in the early going before rebounding to top Mount Aloysius (2-8) in four sets on Thursday night. The visiting Mounties held off a late surge by the home team in the opening set to grab the early advantage but the Lions responded by gutting out a thrilling second set in extra points. 

The home team led by as much as eight midway through the second set but Mount Aloysius chipped away and eventually put together a 6-0 spurt that tied things up in crunch time. Trailing 26-25, the Lions drew even thanks to a service error before pulling ahead with an Emmaline Stevens kill. They finally put things away with a block from Tiniira Tubo and Hannah DeGregory to even the match. 

Penn State Harrisburg carried the momentum of the hard-fought second set to the third and pulled ahead by as many as 11 points but the visitors made it interesting and clawed back to as close as 22-19 down the stretch. Briana Ondishin Ribon answered with a kill off a Katie Richardson feed and the Lions eventually took the set thanks to an attack error from the Mounties.

The fourth and deciding set was all Penn State Harrisburg, as the home team opened things with a 5-0 run before creating major separation at 19-8 on a Richardson service ace. After the Lions ripped off five straight points in the closing moments, DeGregory ended things with a kill that clinched the overall victory for the home team. 

NOTABLES

- Wettstone racked up a career-high 11 kills. Tubo added eight and Stevens finished with seven.

- Julia Choe tallied a team-high 17 digs. Richardson had 13 and DeGregory added a dozen.

- Tubo had four total blocks, while Ondishin Ribon and DeGregory had three apiece.

- Richardson finished with 31 assists from her setter position. 

- Kate Bukowski had four service aces. Madison Balmos finished with a pair of her own.

WHO'S NEXT? 

The Lions travel to Rutgers-Camden for tri-match action on Saturday afternoon. 

STAY CONNECTED 

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