Mont Alto Volleyball Stumbles Against Notre Dame of Maryland

By: Frank Maira, Assistant Director of Athletics/Sports Information Director

MONT ALTO, Pa. – The Penn State Mont Alto volleyball team embarked on its first road match of their 2018 season as it squared off against Notre Dame of Maryland on Monday evening. The Gators defeated the Nittany Lions 3-0 by scores of 25-15, 25-16, and 25-12.

Inside the Box Score

• PSUMA had 15 kills against 21 errors on 80 attempts for a -.075 attacking percentage, while the Gators had 30 kills against 15 errors on 90 total attacks for a .167 attacking percentage.
• Kirstyn Black (Saint Thomas, Pa. / James Buchanan) led Mont Alto with five kills. Courtney Stump (Greencastle, Pa. / Greencastle Antrim) and Allison Meyers (Greencastle, Pa. / James Buchanan) had busy evenings gathering 15 and 10 digs, respectively.
• Notre Dame of Maryland relied upon Sarah Sweet and Kayleigh Davis as their hitters with the duo combining for 20 kills.

How it Happened

• Mont Alto started the first set well earning a 2-1 lead before the teams went back and forth with the homestanding Gators earning its first lead of the match at 5-4. The Gators then strong together five-straight points via consecutive kills and service aces to seize the momentum to run away with the first game. 
• It was in the second set that Mont Alto came alive and showed the potential the young team has as they dug themselves out of an early deficit to build a 15-14 lead that was punctuated with a Breane Byers (Chambersburg, Pa. / Chambersburg Area) kill. However, Notre Dame of Maryland capitalized on five straight PSUMA attack errors and seized the set.
• The Nittany Lions tied a team-best six kills including three from freshman Kirstyn Black (Saint Thomas, Pa. / James Buchanan) within the final set as they also limited themselves to only four errors. The Gators saved their best for last putting away the match with a match-best .211 kill percentage.

Penn State Mont Alto (0-2) return to the friendly confines of their home gymnasium on Thursday, September 6 with a match against the University of Valley Forge. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.