Penn State Mont Alto Prevails in Five Set Thriller to Capture 2nd Straight PSUAC Volleyball Title

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - It was a match for the ages. In the first PSUAC Volleyball Championship match to go the distance since 2018, Penn State Mont Alto and Penn State York put on a show in a dramatic five set match at Rec Hall on the University Park campus.

For the second straight year, Mont Alto came out victorious their respected rivals to win the PSUAC crown and clinch the conference's automatic berth to the USCAA Volleyball National Championship tournament. After a sweep in 2022, Mont Alto had to work a lot harder to take home hardware in 2023 as York's strategy kept them ahead through much of the match. It was only thanks to some late rallies that brought Mont Alto the 3-2 (25-19, 23-25, 22-25, 26-24, 15-5) win.

Mont Alto's Gracie Vaughn finished with a match-best 20 kills, nine blocks all whilehitting .409 on the night, showing why she was named the West Division Player of the Year. Teammates Leslie Huckle and Elizabeth Trella finished with 17 and 15 kills, respectively, while Kylie Denlinger added 55 assists. Brooke Denlinger had 23 digs for the victors, while teammate Gabby Baughman added 19 to provide the backbone of the Mont Alto defense.

York's Hannah Knight and Kyla Kolivoski each had 24 assists, helping four of their teammates reach double digit kills. Jayda Simmons finished with a match-high 43 digs in defensive support of her balanced offense.

Mont Alto, the West Division's top seed, started the match fast, grabbing an 8-4 lead that extended to 15-7 midway through the first set. A York rally cut it to 15-13 before Mont Alto scored three straight points to grab a five point lead at 18-13. The teams essentially traded points the rest of the way as Mont Alto picked up a relatively unscathed first set.

Then things got interesting. York won the next two sets on the backs of East Division Player of the Year Jess Dunbar and All-Conference selection Whitney Smyth. The duo finished with 13 and 14 kills, respectively, and helped the East Division's no. 1 seed grab a two sets to one advantage. Set two saw York play from behind early, but down 16-13 they caught fire. A service error from Mont Alto gave York momentum that was built upon with a kills from Smyth and teammate Olivia Giltner. Another kill from Smyth gave York their first lead of the set at 17-16, and eventually the lead was extended to as much as 23-19 before ultimately putting Mont Alto away.

Set three played out similarly to the previous one, with Mont Alto grabbing an early lead. This time, trailing 14-7, York made its run with six straight points capped by a Dunbar kill. After trading points, York finally took a lead at 18-17, and a Dunbar service ace added to the advantage. Mont Alto fought back to tie the set at 22-22, but York snuffed out the rally and closed out the set with three straight, including a service ace by Kyla Kolivoski to take the 2-1 set lead.

The momentum stayed with York early in the fourth set as they built their biggest lead of the night, scoring seven of the first eight points in the set. Mont Alto would battle back to draw within one at 8-7 as York had three errors in a row. Dunbar got York back on track with a kill to make it 9-7 before Giltner and Smyth added two kills apiece to build a 15-8 lead. Mont Alto wouldn't lie down yet, using three service aces and a kill from Elizabeth Trella to help cut the deficit to just one at 16-15. The teams would be tied seven more times in the fourth set alone after that point before Vaughn closed the set in extra points with a kill to tie the match at two sets.

York quickly bounced back with the first two points of the deciding set, but Mont Alto went into overdrive and rallied for the next eight points, including three kills from Vaughn. York cut it to 8-4, but Mont Alto rallied for the next six points with three kills from Vaughn once again in that stretch. Leslie Huckle closed the door with her championship clinching kill and a Mont Alto celebration was on.

Mont Alto, which won its third PSUAC volleyball championship since 2004, ensured its spot in the USCAA Division II Volleyball National Championship to be held at Penn State Fayette beginning November 9. Penn State York will await its fate during the USCAA selection show scheduled for November 1.