ELIZABETHTOWN, PA – The Penn State Berks women's volleyball team (4-6) went up to take on Elizabethtown College (7-2) on Saturday, September 20. The Nittany Lions fell in both contests to the Blue Jays 3-0 in game one and game two.
In game one, The Nittany Lions controlled the early portion of the opening set, turning a 3-1 edge into an 11-1 lead with a sideout kill from Delaney Gote followed by seven straight points on Ella Griffiths' serve. Gote was involved throughout the early separation, while Madelyn Caris added kills and Griffiths delivered a service ace during that stretch. Berks pushed the margin back to 17-10 on a Julia Zaprazny kill from Gabryella Maney, but Elizabethtown answered by scoring the next eight points, including six service aces from Zoey Henning, to move in front 18-17. The Nittany Lions got even at 18-18 and later used late kills from Dani Tribbett to stay within reach, but Elizabethtown closed out the set 25-20.
Berks could not recover after Elizabethtown turned a 12-8 second-set score into an 18-8 advantage with six straight points, a stretch that included three Lucy Stanek kills, a Zoey Henning kill and two Nittany Lions errors. Earlier, the Blue & White answered a back-to-back-ace start from Elizabethtown with sideouts, getting kills from Gote, Shea Leber and Tribbett as the set moved to 12-8. Tribbett supplied another kill late, and Libby Swoyer followed with a service ace to bring Berks to 13-24. Elizabethtown answered the ace with the final point to take the second set, 25-13.
The Nittany Lions faced an early 7-1 deficit in the third set before working back within 13-11, but Elizabethtown answered late and took the set 25-13. Gote and Madelyn Caris supplied early kills, and Caris added another before Leber put down consecutive kills to keep Berks within reach at 12-8. After an Elizabethtown service error, Libby Swoyer served an ace and Gote teamed with Tribbett on a block to make it 13-11. Elizabethtown responded with four straight points, and although Gote added two more kills down the stretch, the home side closed out the set.
Gote led Berks with 11 kills and 11.5 points, adding one block assist. Libby Swoyer recorded 19 assists, two service aces and four digs. Tribbett finished with six kills, four digs and one block assist. Mackenzie Davis collected a team-high eight digs and added four assists.
In game two, The Nittany Lions led 21-20 late in the first set after Dani Tribbett's kill, but Elizabethtown answered with the final five points to take the set 25-21. Earlier, Berks opened with a 5-1 advantage behind a Gwen Tew-Julia Zaprazny block, two Zaprazny kills and a Madelyn Caris service ace before Elizabethtown worked back to even the score at 5-5. The Blue & White responded again in the middle of the set, moving from down 9-8 to ahead 13-10 with points that included kills by Delaney Gote and Caris and a Gabryella Maney ace. After Elizabethtown tied the set at 13-13, the Nittany Lions continued to trade points and later used a Tribbett block, a Gote kill and an Elizabethtown attack error to go in front 20-19, but the hosts controlled the closing stretch.
Berks made its biggest push late in the second set, rallying from a 22-17 deficit to tie the score at 23-23 and again at 24-24 before Elizabethtown took the final two points for a 26-24 set win. Earlier, the Nittany Lions opened with the first two points on an Elizabethtown attack error and a Julia Zaprazny kill from Gabryella Maney, then stayed within range with kills from Tew, Gote and Madelyn Caris. After Elizabethtown moved ahead 15-10, the Blue & White cut the margin to 15-13 behind a Caris kill, a block by Gote and Tribbett, and a Gote kill from Libby Swoyer. Elizabethtown later stretched the lead to 22-17, but Zaprazny and Tew added kills and Berks capitalized on three attack errors to pull even at 23-23 before Ella Griffiths fought off set point with a kill from Mackenzie Davis to make it 24-24.
The Nittany Lions spent the third set chasing an early deficit, as Elizabethtown scored the first four points and later moved ahead 15-5 behind consecutive service aces. Emily Snader helped Berks answer in the early and middle stages with kills from Libby Swoyer at 3-8 and 4-9, and Tew added a Swoyer-assisted kill to make it 15-6. After an Elizabethtown service error, the Blue & White added an attack-error point and a Snader kill on Madelyn Caris' serve, a three-point response that moved the set to 16-9. Berks continued to get late points from Snader, Gote and Caris, but Elizabethtown kept enough separation and finished the set 25-15.
Gote led the Nittany Lions with eight kills while hitting .333 and adding two block assists. Madelyn Caris finished with seven kills, 12 digs and one service ace. Libby Swoyer tallied a team-high 13 assists with three digs. Ella Griffiths collected a team-best 14 digs.
WHO'S NEXT
Up next, Berks travels to Westminster, Maryland, to face McDaniel College on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at 11 p.m.
FOLLOW US
Fans can keep up with Berks Athletics all season long on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube using the handle @BerksAthletics.
