AURORA, N.Y. – Penn State Harrisburg's women's volleyball team opened United East play with a split at Wells on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 9. The Lions fell to Penn State Berks in the opening contest of a tri-match before bouncing back with a sweep of the hometown Express.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Penn State Harrisburg (12-6, 1-1 United East) dropped a four-setter to Penn State Berks (10-11, 2-0 United East) in the team's first conference match of the season, falling by set scores of 20-25, 25-16, 25-22, and 25-21. The Lions bounced back with a sweep of Wells (5-12, 0-2 United East) in the final match of the day, securing the win thanks to set scores of 25-17, 25-18, and 25-14.

The Blue & White took the first set against Penn State Berks after using a 5-1 run capped by a Tori Henderson kill off an Alyssa Snyder assist to close out the first game. The opposing Lions jumped out to a sizable advantage and never looked back in the second set before holding off late charges from Penn State Harrisburg in both the third and fourth games.

The Lions responded against the Express, using an 11-7 run that included back-to-back service aces by Megan Morris to clinch the opener. The second set remained tight until the Blue & White put together a 4-0 stretch to close out the game, as kills by Melanie Sheaffer and Emmaline Stevens were too much for Wells to overcome. The third and final set saw Penn State Harrisburg race out to an 11-2 advantage before the home team cut the deficit to 13-9. Another kill from Sheaffer halted Wells' momentum and the Lions reeled off five straight points during a Corrinne Cook service run to put things out of reach and secure their first conference win of the year.

NOTABLES

- Melanie Sheaffer led the way with 17 kills against Penn State Berks, while Cheyanne Buckingham racked up 15 of her own.

- Megan Morris had a team-high 11 digs in the opener. Corrinne Cook and Alyssa Snyder added 10 apiece.

- Snyder assisted on 28 points in the first match, while Katie Richardson managed 11 assists.

- Anna Ruff had a match-high four block assists against Penn State Berks.

- Emmaline Steven racked up a match-best 12 kills in the win over Wells. Sheaffer had eight and Buckingham added seven.

- Morris and Richardson each tallied a team-high 12 digs in the second contest.

- Richardson racked up 27 assists against the Express.

- Morris recorded three service aces in the last match, while Olivia Koicuba and Richardson added two apiece.

WHO'S NEXT?

The Lions will take a quick trip to Elizabethtown for a non-conference tilt on Tuesday night, Oct. 12. 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.