Mont Alto Volleyball Finishes up Weekend with Wins over Christendom and Penn State Shenango

By: Frank Maira, Assistant Director of Athletics/Sports Information Director

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Penn State Mont Alto volleyball team split a tri-match on Saturday with a win against Christendom and a loss to Notre Dame of Maryland. PSUMA followed it up with a 3-1 conference victory over PSU Shenango to start their PSUAC conference pursui on Sunday. 

Penn State Mont Alto 3, Christendom College 1

• The Nittany Lions earned a hard-fought set one win just edging Christendom 25-23. Mont Alto had 10 kills within the game and carried that momentum into the second set. The team rolled to a 2-0 lead by a 25-10 score.
• Freshman Kylee Gooding (Warriors Mark, Pa. / Tyrone Area) was the top hitter for the Nittany Lions with 17 kills. She also picked up 13 digs on defense.
• The Crusaders won a hard fought third set to claw their way back before Mont Alto slammed the door shut with a 25-20 win in the fourth.

Notre Dame of Maryland 3, Penn State Mont Alto 0

• Full box scores were not made available as of this writing on Sunday evening. Check back Monday on the schedule page for updates.

 Penn State Mont Alto 3, Penn State Shenango 1

• Penn State Shenango turned out to be a good test for Mont Alto as they fought for a 3-1 victory on Sunday at the squad's first home match in Heiges Field House at Shippensburg University.
• Mont Alto decisively won the first two sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-18. The Nittany Lions had 12 kills within the first set.
• Kylee Gooding (Warriors Mark, Pa. / Tyrone Area) added another nine kills as PSUMA's other kills were evenly distributed between Breanne Byers (Chambersburg, Pa. / Chambersburg Area), Rachel Manikowski (Mercersburg, Pa. / James Buchanan) and Kirstyn Black (Saint Thomas Pa. / James Buchanan) chipped in four kills each.
• Penn State Shenango gave Mont Alto a run for it's money in the third set winning the game and initially had an early 5-1 lead. Mont Alto put together a solid run and within the middle of the set they took advantage and won the game by a 25-21 score.
• The visitors made a mini run to begin the fourth set but, PSUMA took advantage of a few consecutive self-inflicted mistakes and won 26-15.
• Melanie Tracey (York, Pa. / Dallastown Area) finished with 16 digs, while Gooding had a team-best nine kills.

Mont Alto (4-2, 1-0 PSUAC) returns to action on Wednesday, September 11 in another home match at Heiges Fieldhouse against PSU New Kensington. The conference matchup gets underway at 7:30 p.m.