Wilkes 3, Lebanon Valley 1
(6-25, 25-27, 25-18, 20-25)
 
How It Happened
Lebanon Valley opened its weekend tri-match at Wilkes by falling to the hosts 3-1 in the team's first outing by set scores of 6-25, 25-27, 25-18, and 20-25 on Saturday morning, Oct. 7.
 
The Flying Dutchmen (11-9) trailed 9-5 early in the first set before Wilkes (5-15) went on a game-changing 10-0 run and scored 16 of the next 17 points to claim the early victory.
 
LVC jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the second set before the Colonels responded with a 9-4 run. The home team led 14-11 but the Dutchmen made a push to reclaim an 18-16 edge. LVC led 25-24 following a Jayna Class kill off a Jensen Burnheimer assist but Wilkes reeled off the last three points to win the second set.
 
Lebanon Valley trailed midway through the third set but roared back with a pivotal 9-1 run capped by a Class block. Leading 18-16, LVC scored seven of the last nine points, including Amber Deshong's set-winning kill from Burnheimer, to cut the deficit to 2-1.
 
The fourth set was another back-and-forth affair with the teams trading the early advantage until the Colonels managed a 7-1 run midway through the game to pull ahead 17-11. A Nina Mentzer kill off a Deshong assist cut the deficit to 22-18 but Wilkes held off LVC's late charge to take the set and the match.
 
Inside the Numbers
- Wilkes racked up 11 service aces as a team. LVC managed six.
- Jayna Class led the way with 14 kills and three aces for the Dutchmen, while Nina Mentzer added seven kills and three blocks of her own.
- Setter Jensen Burheimer racked up 30 assists and added 10 digs and three blocks.
- Abbey Barnhart continued to fill in for Emily Smeltz at libero and dug out a team-high 18 balls.
- Autumn Leese pitched in with 10 digs and Class added seven.
 

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Lebanon Valley 3, Rutgers-Newark 0
(25-14, 25-15, 25-16)
 
How It Happened
After falling in its first contest of the day, Lebanon Valley bounced back to earn a split at Wilkes' tri-match thanks to a 3-0 sweep of Rutgers-Newark by set scores of 25-14, 25-15, and 25-16 on Saturday afternoon.
 
With the opening set tied at 4-4, the Dutchmen (12-9) reeled off nine of the next 10 points to blow the game open. Jess Attieh and Reina Eckman combined for a block to make it 13-5 midway through the set. Back-to-back kills by Attieh sealed the victory for LVC.
 
It was all Lebanon Valley in the second set as the team led by as much as 18-6, keyed by Kaitlyn Reed's service run. The Dutchmen pushed the advantage to 21-7 and Nina Mentzer capped the game with a kill and service ace on back-to-back volleys.
 
It was more of the same early in the third and final set as LVC jumped out to a 5-0 lead during an Erin Koons' service run. But Rutgers-Newark (6-8) responded with a 10-3 run to grab the advantage before the Dutchmen converted 17 of the game's next 23 points. Eckman hammered home a kill off a Koons' assist to clinch the set and the match for Lebanon Valley.
 
Inside the Numbers
- Jess Attieh was an offensive juggernaut and racked up 18 kills on .457 hitting.
- Reina Eckman notched eight kills and Amanda Sides added six of her own.
- Setters Erin Koons and Jensen Burnheimer combined for 31 assists.
- Koons recorded four service aces and Nina Mentzer added a pair.
- Eckman posted a team-high three blocks.
- Koons dug out a team-high 12 balls, while libero Abbey Barnhart added 11 digs.
 
Who's Next?
The Dutchmen get back to MAC Commonwealth play when they host Alvernia at Sorrentino Gymnasium on Tuesday night, Oct. 10.

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