Morristown, NJ- The Penn St. Berks Women's Volleyball Team fought back from an 0-2 deficit to knock off Saint Elizabeth University on Tuesday, Oct. 15. The Lions earned their first United East victory of the season by set scores of 17-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-18, 15-8.

The Lions (5-11 Overall, 1-3 UEC) fell behind early in the match dropping the opening two sets to the Eagles (7-11 Overall, 2-4 UEC). With their backs against the wall, Berks looked to bounce back in the third set, taking a 4-2 lead off a service ace from Madelyn Caris. The Lions then capitalized on an 8-1 run featuring kill two key kills from Caris to build a 17-12 advantage. Saint Elizabeth answered back, tying the set at 20. The Lions closed the set on a 4-1 run with a solo block by Katelyn Williams securing the set victory.

Having captured the momentum in the third, Berks stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth set after a service ace by Libby Swoyer. The teams traded the lead until the Blue & White rattled off six-straight points to take a 17-11 lead. The Lions remained in controlled throughout the rest of the set with a kill by Diana Stoltzfus sending the match to a decisive fifth set.

Berks quickly grabbed control of the fifth set, with kills by Jordan Thompson, Audrey Risser and Stoltzfus giving the Lions a 9-1 lead. Stoltzfus pushed the Lions to brink of victory, smashing down back-to-back kills. Makenzie Shoop put the exclamation point on the comeback with one final kill to secure the match victory.

Thompson led the Lions offense, finishing the match with 10 kills while Shoop and Stoltzfus each posted nine kills. Swoyer paced the offense, recording a season-high 32 assists to go along with a team-high 13 digs. Defensively, Stoltzfus and Williams each recorded 11 digs.

WHO'S NEXT
The Lions will return home to host Penn St. Harrisburg on Saturday, Oct. 19. The match is scheduled to start at 1:00 PM.

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