Photo Courtesy of Tom Walck
The ladies from Mont Alto made the trip west on Friday evening in order to start their four match weekend. Saturday morning saw the ladies in the gym at Penn State Beaver. The first match vs. Penn State New Kensington was a great warm-up match for the Mont Alto ladies. They were able to work on their lineups and communication as they dispatched their opponent in straight sets.
After 10 minutes of down time, the ladies were back on the court warming up to get ready for the match vs. Penn State Beaver. Beaver came into the match with a 2-1 record in PSUAC's, compared to Mont Alto's 3-1 record. As the first set started, Mont Alto struggled to separate themselves from Beaver on the scoreboard. The ladies finally pulled out four back to back service aces and they were off to the races. Mont Alto controlled the match from that point on. The second set saw a charged up Mont Alto squad take the court and show their superior strength, court presence and a strong determination. The ladies set themselves up well in the second set and cruised on to the set win. In the third set, the ladies from Mont Alto got out to a 6-2 lead, and then stumbled on the back of some poor passing letting Beaver back to within one point. However, then the ladies turned on the aggression and started acing their opponents. By this point, Beaver's energy dropped and the Mont Alto Lady Lions triumphed in their third straight PSUAC victory.
Saturday Stat Leaders:
Christine Walker: 19 kills, 3 aces, 24 digs & 3 assists
Brianne Rice: 15 kills, 8 aces, 3 blocks, 16 digs
Lauren Chapman: 7 kills, 44 assists, 2 aces
Katie Wantz: 19 digs, 3 aces
Brianna Burnett: 5 kills, 2 block kills
Mont Alto started right back on the court on Sunday in the large gym at Fayette facing off against the defending PSUAC champs. The ladies from Mont Alto started the match trading points with Fayette. The first set was 10-10 before Fayette began to pull away. Mont Alto dropped the first set to Fayette 25-15. The second set, Mont Alto jumped out to a five point lead. The ladies were amped up and charged at Fayette, forcing Fayette to play from behind for the first time in the match. The set finally tied up at 15 and then the teams again traded points to 21. At 21, Fayette took two to get a 23-21 lead, before Mont Alto also put on a two point charge. Tied at 23, Mont Alto blinked first and the set went to Fayette 23-25. The third set, again was a trading of points back and forth. Fayette would put away a kill, and then either Brianne Rice (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg) or Christine Walker (Chambersburg, PA/Cumberland Valley Christian) would return the point. At 24-24 Mont Alto got a great block on Fayette's middle, setting up 25-24, only to have Fayette answer back. The Fayette team then served the ball long, setting up another set point for Mont Alto, and the ladies dug in and put away the set @ 27-25. The fourth set Mont Alto trailed 24-16, the Mont Alto ladies fought off three match points, before the Fayette squad was able to record a block kill to win the match.
The second match of the day and fourth for the weekend, Mont Alto took on Penn State Greater Allegheny. The ladies had a little built up aggression, which they emptied on Greater Allegheny in the first set, with ace after ace being recorded by Mont Alto, as they went on to a decisive 25-5 victory. The second set saw a Greater Allegheny team who played better and scraped to get a few more points, scoring 13 and 20 in the second and third sets consecutively.
The ladies will return home against Penn State Scranton and Penn State Wilkes-Barre on Saturday October 1st starting at noon for a home quad match.
Sunday's Stat Leaders:
Brianne Rice: 14 kills, 7 aces & 14 digs
Christine Walker: 22 kills, 2 aces & 19 digs
Lauren Chapman: 45 assists and 8 aces
Morgan Rhone: 13 digs
Austyn Leib: 12 kills and 20 digs
Katie Wantz: 16 digs
