PENN STATE BEHREND EARNS UPSET VICTORY FOR WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TITLE

The No. 3 Penn State Behrend women's volleyball team won their seventh overall AMCC championship with a 3-2 decision over No. 1 Mt. Aloysius College on Sunday afternoon.

Behrend took a quick lead, as the Lions tallied a five-point lead early in the first set at 12-7. Mount Aloysius tied the match on five occasions and grabbed a two-point lead at 23-21 to force the Lions to use their second timeout. Behrend won the final four points, taking advantage of two attack errors by the Mounties to take a 1-0 lead (25-23). Mount Aloysius won the second set 25-20, getting the final two kills from Mackenzie Barr. Behrend's Cadence Jones recorded 13 kills through two sets. The Lions responded with a quick 4-1 lead in the third. Behrend grew its lead to the largest of the match at 19-12 after a service error by the Mounties. Mount Aloysius got within three but the Lions closed out the set with a kill from Jones and Kylie Fehlman and an ace from Sailor Ladd. 

The Mounties stayed alive and won the fourth set, 25-17, to make the championship match come down to a fifth set. Down 10-8 in the fifth, Behrend won four straight points to take a 12-10 lead. The Lions went on an 8-3 run to end the final set and capture the AMCC title, earning its first title since 2021. Three players tallied double-doubles led by Jones' 25 kills and 17 digs. Brynne Smith had 49 assists and 19 digs, while Alani Salas-Garcia posted 11 kills and a team-best 20 digs

Molly Richards led the Mounties with 21 kills and 26 digs. Mackenzie Barr added 15 kills, two blocks and an ace, while Reghyn Wilson contributed 21 assists and seven digs for Mount Aloysius.

With the win, the Behrend Lions earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Lions will await the NCAA Division III Tournament selection show on Monday at 1 p.m

All-Tournament Team
Penn State Behrend - Cadence Jones, Kylie Fehlman
Mount Aloysius - Molly Richards, Mackenzie Barr
Penn State Altoona - Lia Simanski
Hilbert - Michaela Rice
La Roche - Megan Bologna
Pitt-Bradford - Lillian Bentley

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