Women's Volleyball
Lebanon Valley 3, DeSales 2
#5 Eastern 3, Lebanon Valley 2

Box Score vs. DeSales
Box Score vs. Eastern

ANNVILLE, Pa. – Lebanon Valley volleyball hosted the first ever MAC Crossover tournament, downing DeSales 3-2 (23-25, 25-14, 25-20, 18-25, 15-13) in the opening match before falling to #5 Eastern in five sets (27-25, 16-25, 14-25, 25-23, 9-15) on Saturday. The loss against Eastern ended the Dutchmen's home winning streak at 28 games, dating back to the 2008 season.

In the opening match, DeSales took the first set before Lebanon Valley stormed back and claimed the next two. The Bulldogs won the fourth set by seven points to force the deciding frame. The two teams battled hard and the Dutchmen came out on top, claiming the final set 15-13.

After going up 13-9 in the final set, the Bulldogs challenged and posted three straight points to pull within one at 13-12. A service ace and kill by LVC then pushed the score to match point. DeSales notched a kill to hold off the Dutchmen before a service error by the Bulldogs gave Lebanon Valley the win.

Four players led Lebanon Valley on the attack front, with each posting 12 or more kills. Senior Emily Hopkins posted a team-high 22 kills, while classmates Joelle Snyder and Michelle Little had 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Junior Jamie Hawk added 12 kills in the match. Setter Emily Perkins tallied 49 assists against the Bulldogs to aid the offensive effort.

Lebanon Valley registered nine service aces against DeSales, with Perkins, junior Angela Kuperavage and freshman Jess Finlayson tallying two service aces each.

The Dutchmen notched 81 digs against the Bulldogs, with four players claiming 11 or more digs. Kuperavage totaled 21 digs, Perkins and freshman Sasha Birosik had 12 and Little added 11 digs.

The front line had five total blocks in the match, with Snyder and senior Emily Hopkins each tallying one solo block.

Lebanon Valley concluded the day with a match against nationally-ranked Eastern, forcing the match to five sets. The match was the first against a nationally-ranked opponent for the Dutchmen this year.

Hanging tough, LVC used a kill by Little and an attack error by Eastern to claim the first set, 27-25. The Eagles controlled the next two sets before the Dutchmen claimed another two point win, 25-23 in the fourth set.

In the fifth set, the two teams stayed close, tying at 6-6 almost halfway through. Eastern then scored six straight points to push their lead to 12-6. The Dutchmen posted three points but a kill from Courtney Reinhold sealed the win for the Eagles.

Hopkins led the team in kills with 17 against Eastern, while Snyder added 10 kills and Perkins totaled 41 assists. LVC notched seven service aces, led by two from Hawk, Snyder and Birosik.

The Dutchmen recorded a season-high 98 digs, led by Kuperavage's season-best 32 digs. On the blocking front, Snyder and freshman Megan Schoch tallied a solo block each against the Eagles.

The matches against DeSales and Eastern were the first time LVC has gone to five sets this season.

Lebanon Valley continues Commonwealth Conference action on Tuesday when it travels to Lycoming for a 7 p.m. match.