Lions split non-conference matchups

Hazleton, Pa. - The Nittany Lions wrapped up their non-conference season on Tuesday night, completing a two-game home stand with Manor College and Trinity Washington University. Hazleton dominated play on Monday night, cruising past Manor College for a three game sweep by scores of 25-6, 25-6 and 25-12 but came up short on Tuesday night against Trinity Washington to split the two-game series following their 25-21, 25-11, 25-12 loss to the Tigers. 

Monday, October 18 - Penn State Hazleton 3, Manor College 0

Manor College was outmatched by the Lions in Monday night's contest. The Nittany Lions struck for 18 kills in the three set sweep, adding 24 service aces to their credit to edge out the visitors. Manor's inability to handle the Hazleton service game was compounded by 21 hitting errors leading to the lopsided victory for the Lions who pulled away early in each of the three sets. Savannah Bauer (San Jose, Ca.) posted one of her best hitting night's of the season, totaling eight kills to lead the Hazleton offense. Kayla Nothstein added an astounding 13 aces from behind the service line with three kills, while Alessandra Banta led the passing game for Hazleton with 16 assists on the night.  

Tuesday, October 19 - Penn State Hazleton 0, Trinity Washington University 3

Hazleton looked to get in the win column on back to back nights for the first time all season, but Trinity Washington had other plans in store for the Lions. Trinity jumped ahead early in this contest with scoring runs of four and five points to take a 10-5 lead over Hazleton in set one. Hazleton trailed by as many as eight points in the opener but clawed back into the game courtesy of six hitting errors by the visitors. The Lions got to within one point of the Tigers after a 6-1 run to make it 20-19 in favor of Trinity, but following a timeout, Hazleton faltered from the service line to shift momentum back to the visitors. Trinity finished out the frame on a 4-2 run to capture the crucial first set of the match. 

Following the close contested opening set, Trinity turned up their play and cruised through the final two sets to take home the win. Hazleton managed just four kills in the final two frames while committing 15 hitting errors to aid the Tigers efforts who finished the match on a 13-0 scoring run. In the end, Trinity got nine kills from Azaria Bruster to lead all scorers in the contest. Zaria Johnson served for 10 aces in the match while setter Lailaini Saofianua totaled 15 assists for a game high. Hazleton was led by Aliana Roman (Harrisburg, Pa.) who finished the game with four kills respectively.

Next up: Hazleton finishes up their home schedule on Thursday night with a PSUAC matchup against Penn State Brandywine at 7:00 p.m.