Penn State Mont Alto Captures PSUAC Volleyball Crown, First Since 2003
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State Mont Alto was due. Since 2003 their volleyball trophy case had sat dormant, but after a win in historic Rec Hall on Tuesday night they'll once again open it and have some new hardware to fill the space.
Mont Alto captured the 2022 PSUAC Volleyball Tournament Championship over Penn State York with a straight set victory (25-13, 25-20, 25-19). The title is Mont Alto's first in volleyball since a six year stretch starting in 1998 produced three championships.
Kylee Gooding and Gracie Vaughn were strong at the net for Mont Alto, limiting York's attack and putting their own swings to the floor. Mont Alto grabbed a 13-3 lead early in the first set, and was eventually up as much as 22-7. York built some momentum towards the end of the set, to close the gap, but the advantage was too much to overcome.
Set two was a classic back-and-forth through as the teams traded points with every rally. But Mont Alto used a late surge to pull away after it was tied at 19 apiece, finishing on a 6-1 run to go up two sets to none. York came out on fire in set three, building a 4-0 lead only to see it quickly vanish as Mont Alto used a 3-0 run of their own to make it 4-3. The teams tied it at five, and then traded points once again through most of the set. But Mont Alto once again found a rally and was able to grab a lead and hold on for the victory and the celebration.
Mont Alto earns the PSUAC's automatic bid into the United States Collegiate Athletic Association's Volleyball National Championship tournament scheduled for November 10-12 in Virginia Beach, Va. Head Coach Randy Hood's squad finished as national runners-up a year ago. York, ranked as high as fourth in the USCAA poll, will have a strong chance at an at-large bid.
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