Lion Volleyball Sustains Post-Season Hopes with 3-1 PSUAC Weekend

McKeesport, Pa. - With 3-1 wins over Penn State Worthington-Scranton and Penn State Wilkes-Barre as well as a 3-2 victory over Penn State Hazleton, the Penn State Greater Allegheny women's volleyball team keeps their Penn State University Athletic Conference post-season hopes alive with just one regular season game remaining.

The first game on Saturday in the Penn State Hazleton Quad-Meet over Penn State Lehigh Valley, the GA Lions fell by an overall margin of 3-2.

Freshman libero Hayley Maksin (Port Vue, Pa./South Allegheny) got down for a game-high 20 digs while junior outside hitter Laura Vazquez-Diaz (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Cupey Maria Montessori) added 13 digs, seven kills, five service aces and an assist. Sophomore setter Courtney Odell Shadd (Hanover Park, Ill./Bartlett) put up 28 assists through the battle with seven assists and eight digs. Junior right side Emily Taylor (Aliquippa, Pa./Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter) noted six kills with a pair of service aces.

The first two sets were Greater Allegheny's by tallies of 25-21 and 25-23 as Lehigh Valley closed the next three, 25-18, 25-11 and 15-11.

The next contest came by the host team, Penn State Hazleton. 

Game two ended in a split for Greater Allegheny, 3-2, as sets two, four and five ended in their favor, 25-23, 25-18 and 15-7.

Vazquez-Diaz noted 22 digs, 11 kills, one service ace and one assist in the win while Shadd assisted 36 kills, 12 digs, two kills and a service ace. Taylor and freshman middle hitter Dorina Adou (Kyoto, Japan/Obama Academy) matched one another with 13 kills while Adou put up 15 digs and three service aces and Taylor with 11 digs, six assists, two service aces and one block solo. Maksin added 17 digs with three service aces.

Sunday brought a second pair of PSUAC matches, first Worthington-Scranton. Sets one, three and four were owned by GA, by scores of 25-15, 26-24 and 25-18.

The final game of the weekend came from Penn State Wilkes-Barre, which GA also took 3-1. The same three sets were the Lions: 25-22, 25-17 and 25-13.

Maksin noted 17 digs with five service aces as Adou added 14 digs and 12 kills. Vazquez-Diaz swiped 11 kills and 11 digs as sophomore middle hitter Andrea Burroughs (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) put up four kills and two block solos. Freshman outside hitter Marina Puharre Selmi (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Objetivo) surged the Lions with five total blocks, four digs and three kills. Shadd capitalized on 25 assists, eight digs and two service aces.

Greater Allegheny (8-10, 7-7 PSUAC) looks forward to their final regular season contest of the season, as the ladies travel to Penn State New Kensington on Tuesday evening, The PSUAC battle is set to begin at 5 p.m.