Lebanon Valley 3, Western Connecticut State 1 (27-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20)

SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley Volleyball team opened up the 2021 campaign with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Western Connecticut State at the Scranton Invitational on Friday evening.  

How It Happened

• The first half of the set one was back-and-forth before Western Conn. Scored six straight points to take a 16-15 lead. Later in the set, LVC was facing a set point, down 25-24, but the Dutchmen would win three consecutive points to take the opening set 27-25.
• Set two was full of runs as well but this time the Colonials would come out on top. LVC led 19-14 but Western Conn. would win 11 of the final 15 points to tie the match at a set apiece.
• The Dutchmen would respond in the third set with a strong finish to the frame. LVC trailed 21-17 before rattling off four straight points and eight of the last ten to take a 2-1 set advantage.
• Similar to the first three sets, the two teams would trade extended runs with LVC edging the Colonials 25-20 with a strong finish to win the match, 3-1.

Inside The Numbers

• Reily Shelly and Mikiah Sangrey each finished with a game-high 18 kills. The 18 kills were a new career-high for Sangrey.
• Ali Whitworth led the Dutchmen with 34 assists, also a career-best.
• Abbi Debes led the Colonials with 15 kills.
• Western Conn. Finished with 15 service aces compared to LVC's nine.
• Kasey Thomas recorded a career-best 16 digs, which was also a game-high. Shelly and Sangrey each finished with double-digit digs at 12 and 11 respectively.
• Each team finished with eight blocks.

Who's Next?
The Dutchmen will play a pair of matches tomorrow in day two of the Scranton Invitational. LVC will start the day with a 1 p.m. match against Vassar College before taking on host Scranton at 5 p.m.

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