Lions Trumped At Mont Alto In Five-Set Thriller

MONT ALTO, Pennsylvania -- Penn State Brandywine won the opening set and rallied to with the fourth set, but was ultimately defeated 3-2 by Penn State Mont Alto in a Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference volleyball match on Tuesday night.

Brandywine (9-7, 5-2 PSUAC) claimed set one by a 25-19 count before Mont Alto rallied to win sets two and three (26-28, 21-25). The Lions pushed the match to a fifth set with a 25-18 triumph in the fourth, but Mont Alto closed out its victory with an 18-16 triumph.

Junior Kirsten Jerla recorded an 11-kill, 12 dig double-double to lead the Lions. Classmate Nicole Costa tallied 10 kills, while junior Kelsi Wiest and freshman Melanie Kempf both added seven. Junior Miranda Biondi collected four service aces and freshman Nicole Poissant dished out all 30 of Brandywine's assists.

Defensively, junior Kimberly Russo amassed a team-best 18 digs, while Wiest collected 15 and junior Molly Nichols recorded 12. Costa added five solo blocks and Poissant tallied three blocks (two solo).

Brandywine returns home for the first time since Sept. 18 this on Saturday and Sunday when it hosts its annual Dig Pink Weekend. The Lions face Penn State Lehigh Valley (12:00 pm) and Penn State Hazelton (2:00 pm) Saturday and close out the weekend with matches against Penn State Wilkes Barre (12:00 pm) and Penn State Scranton (2:00 pm) on Sunday.