WVB lineup vs LBC
Tyler Schueck
3
Winner Penn State Berks PSBW 16-14
2
Lancaster Bible LBCW 16-16
Winner
Penn State Berks PSBW
16-14
3
Final
2
Lancaster Bible LBCW
16-16
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Penn State Berks PSBW 15 25 25 19 15 (3)
Lancaster Bible LBCW 25 14 23 25 12 (2)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

WVB downs Lancaster Bible to advance to NEAC Seminifal round

LANCASTER, PA - The Penn State Berks women's volleyball team bounced back from a sluggish start to earn a thrilling 3-2 victory over Lancaster Bible College in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Quarterfinal round in front of a loud, jam-packed crowd of 388 people at Horst Athletic Center on Tuesday night.

The Nittany Lions (16-14) trailed 9-3 in the early going and the deficit grew to 21-9, before LBC finished off the first set by a 25-15 margin. The second game saw Berks jump out to its own 9-3 lead and that ballooned to 18-10 and eventually ended 25-14 in the Nittany Lions favor to even the overall score at 1-1.

The Chargers (16-16) jumped out to 10-4 lead in the third game, but Berks battled back to tie the match at 12-12. The Nittany Lions went ahead 19-16, then LBC rallied to take a 21-20 lead. The teams exchanged points before an error by LBC and kill by Zoe Barna gave Berks a 25-23 victory and a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth set, LBC jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held at least a three-point cushion throughout the set. The home team finished off the contest with a kill by Cassidy King for a 25-19 win and thus forcing a decisive fifth set.

The final set was no more than two points in either teams favor until a kill by Sarah Nichols and an error by LBC gave Berks a late 13-10. The Nittany Lions had an error, followed by a kill from Natalie Dwyer to make it 14-11. Bekah Roberts made it 14-12 with a kill, but Dwyer put the game away with a kill to record a 15-12 victory.

The Nittany Lions bench stormed the court and cheered, while the loyal fans in the crowd yelled as Berks won the quarterfinal match in its return to postseason play.

Dwyer recorded a contest-high 15 kills, followed by Blair Eckel with 13 and Barna with 11. Nichols turned in one of her most dominating performances of the season with eight kills and no errors on 21 attempts for a .381 hitting percentage. As a team, the Nittany Lions had a .200 or better hitting percentage in games two through five, after finishing with a -.122 in the first game.

Julia Rathsam had 40 of the team's 52 assists to go along with a team-high 21 digs. Jenna Plitnick and Eckel both added 16 digs, and Dwyer chipped in 11 as the Nittany Lions collected 89 as a team.

Plitnick, Madison Hetrick, and Marie Durkota combined for all seven of Berks' service aces. Plitnick and Hetrick each had three, while Durkota had one. The trio made great serves all night that kept LBC off-balance, switching between floaters and line drives.

Berks won the battle at the net with 7.0 blocks, compared to 6.0 by the Chargers. Syd Himmelberger and Nichols tied for the team lead with three block assists, while Himmelberger also added a solo block. Barna and Eckel each had two block assists, while Dwyer and Rathsam had one apiece.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak against LBC and avenged a 3-2 setback earlier this season.

The Nittany Lions advance to the NEAC Semifinal round where they will meet No. 1 seed and tournament host Morrisville State on Saturday, November 9 at 12 p.m. The winner of that game will face the winner of Penn State Abington and Penn State Harrisburg in the NEAC Championship on Sunday, November 10 at 1 p.m.
 
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