READING — The Penn State Berks women's volleyball team (7-9) competed in non-conference action as they took on undefeated Penn State York (21-0) in Monday night action. Berks looked to compete against York, who competes in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), but were unable take a set as the Nittany Lions fell 3-0 on the night.
The Nittany Lions could not overcome the Lions' middle-set separation in a 25-17 opening-set loss. Earlier,
Delaney Gote put Berks on the board with two kills from
Libby Swoyer as the home side scored three of the first four points, and
Madelyn Caris later answered with a kill to tie the set at 4-4. The Lions then scored the next five points to move ahead 9-4, and the Blue & White worked through the deficit with kills from
Shea Leber, Caris and
Julia Zaprazny. Berks made its clearest late push from 21-11 to 21-15 behind a Caris kill, a
Gabryella Maney service ace and back-to-back blocks involving Leber,
Emily Snader and Swoyer, but the Lions closed out the set 25-17.
Berks' clearest push in the second set came after it fell behind 14-7, as a block by
Emily Snader and
Marissa Bailey and another from Gote helped the home side cut the margin to 15-13. Earlier, the Nittany Lions answered the first three points of the set with kills from Gote,
Julia Zaprazny and
Madelyn Caris to pull even at 4-4. The Lions later built the 14-7 advantage, but Berks responded through the block and a
Libby Swoyer service turn that included three straight points.
Emily Snader, Gote and Caris added kills down the stretch to keep the Blue & White within 18-16, before the Lions scored the next four points and finished the set 25-18.
After an early 3-3 tie, Berks could not overcome the Lions' separation, as the visitors moved ahead 7-3 and kept the Nittany Lions from stringing together consecutive points the rest of the set. Earlier, Gote,
Mackenzie Davis and
Emily Snader each put down kills for Berks, with
Libby Swoyer assisting on all three.
Madelyn Caris,
Gwen Tew, Gote and Snader added later kills as the Nittany Lions answered individual Lions points, but York continued to respond with sideouts. The Lions closed the set with a late surge from 18-10 to 25-10, including a Kira Eisenberg service ace on the final point, to take the third set 25-10.
Gote led Berks with eight kills and 10 points, adding two solo blocks and four digs.
Madelyn Caris posted seven kills with a .273 hitting percentage and collected 10 digs.
Libby Swoyer finished with 19 assists, three digs and a block assist.
Ella Griffiths recorded a team-high 13 digs and added two assists.
WHO'S NEXT
Up next, Berks makes a quick turnaround as they host St. Mary's College of Maryland on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 6 p.m. at Beaver Athletics and Wellness Center in United East competition.
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