CRESSON, Pa. - The Mount Aloysius women's volleyball team battled Pitt-Bradford in a five-set AMCC showdown on Saturday afternoon inside the Athletic Convocation and Wellness Center, ultimately falling to the Panthers, 3-2. The Mounties claimed the opening set and rallied to win the fourth to force a deciding fifth set, but Pitt-Bradford came away with the 23-25, 25-22, 25-15, 21-25, 15-9 victory.
The Mounties came out strong in the opening set, edging the Panthers, 25-23, to take an early advantage. Pitt-Bradford responded by taking the second set, 25-22, before building momentum with a 25-15 win in the third to move within one set of the match.
Facing a two-set-to-one deficit, Mount Aloysius answered with a strong fourth set. The Mounties recorded 14 kills in the frame while hitting .194, their best attacking percentage of the match, to secure a 25-21 victory and force a decisive fifth set.
In the final frame, Pitt-Bradford pulled away to earn the 15-9 win and close out the conference matchup.
Senior outside hitter Mackenzie Barr (Pittsburgh, Pa., Shaler) led the Mounties with 14 kills, reaching a major career milestone by recording her 1,000th career kill during the match. Barr has 285 kills this season, which is second most in the conference. Barr also contributed three service aces and two block assists for 18.0 points. With three aces, Barr now needs two more for 100 career aces.
Loren Stipanovich (Cresson, Pa, Penn Cambria) added 11 kills and led the Mounties at the net with seven total blocks, including one solo block. Maya McIlwain (Rural Valley, Pa, West Shamokin) provided a spark from the service line, recording a match-high six aces. McIlwain's 33 aces this season is tied for seventh in the AMCC.
Madison Barr (Pittsburgh, Pa., Shaler) led the defensive effort with 22 digs. Kiersten Cummings (Las Vegas, Nev, Nevada State) paced the offense with 20 assists, and Reghyn Wilson (Harrisburg, Pa., Bishop McDevitt) added 14 assists.
As a team, the Mounties finished with 42 kills, 10 service aces and 76 digs. Despite the tough loss, Mount Aloysius had more digs than Pitt-Bradford (76-66) and continued to battle throughout the five-set contest.
The Mounties move to 12-8 overall and 5-5 in AMCC play following the loss, while Pitt-Bradford improves to 8-11 overall and 7-3 in conference action.
Next up: The Mounties will host Penn State Behrend this Wednesday at 6:00 PM inside the ACWC. First time through conference play, the Lions defeated the Mounties 3-0.
