ASTON, Pa. ­­– The Lebanon Valley College volleyball team split its final tri-match of the season on Saturday, defeating Gwynedd Mercy University 3-0 and dropping a 3-1 match to Neumann University. The contests were hosted by Neumann at The Mirenda Center. 

Match 1 vs. Gwynedd Mercy University 
Lebanon Valley (15-10, 5-1 MAC Freedom) defeated Gwynedd Mercy (10-13, 3-2 Atlantic East) in three sets during its first match of the day. The Flying Dutchmen won the sets by scores of 25-14, 25-16 and 25-17. Senior Taylor McInerney played an important role in the victory, recording 27 kills.

The Flying Dutchmen took control of the first set early, jumping out to an 11-5 lead over the Griffins. Lebanon Valley was up 7-5 before going on a 4-0 run, courtesy of an attack error and kills by sophomore Mattea Penner, McInerney and junior Robyn Stepler. The squads then exchanged points until LVC was ahead by a score of 19-12. The Dutchmen then delivered four straight points, taking a 23-12 advantage on kills by McInerney and Penner, along with two attack errors. The program went on to close out the set and take a 1-0 lead in the match. 

The Griffins led early in the second set, taking a 9-3 advantage against the Flying Dutchmen. Lebanon Valley answered back with a 6-1 run, narrowing its deficit to 10-9. The squads then swapped points until Gwynedd Mercy was ahead 14-12, before LVC's offense delivered a dominant stretch of nine consecutive points to take a 21-14 advantage. The program claimed the lead on a run that included four kills by McInerney, two aces by junior Abigail Souder and a kill by first-year Libby Lindau. The Dutchmen ultimately took the set 25-16, while going ahead 2-0 in the match.

Lebanon Valley got its offense rolling early in the third set, taking a 4-0 lead on kills by McInerney and Penner, as well as two attack errors. Gwynedd Mercy then attempted to get back into the set, narrowing LVC's advantage to 9-8. The Flying Dutchmen responded with four points in a row, going ahead 13-8. The Griffins later tied the set at 14-14, before Lebanon Valley delivered an 8-1 stretch to claim a 22-15 advantage. The program took control of the set on a run that included five kills by McInerney and a kill by first-year Teaguen Reynolds. Lebanon Valley later claimed the set 25-17 and won the match 3-0. 

Inside the Box Score:

• McInerney led the Flying Dutchmen with 27 kills.
• Stepler recorded the most assists for Lebanon Valley, registering 27. The junior also had two service aces in the match. 
• Souder tallied two aces as well. 
• First-year Sofia Okronley was credited with 17 assists. 
• Senior Olivia Nace led LVC with a pair of blocks.
• Senior Kasey Thomas posted the most digs on the squad, recording 14. 

Match 2 vs. Neumann University  
Lebanon Valley (15-11, 5-1 MAC Freedom) battled against Neumann (16-8, 3-1 Atlantic East) until the final point, delivering a strong effort in four sets. The Knights took the first set 25-11 and the Flying Dutchmen won the second 26-24. Neumann then closed out the match by winning the next two sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-22. 

The Knights went ahead early in the first set, taking a 12-3 lead. The Dutchmen answered with two straight point on a kill by McInerney and an ace by Stepler. McInerney recorded a total of four kills during the opening set. Neumann then went on to win the set and take a 1-0 advantage in the match. 

Lebanon Valley and Neumann went back-and-forth in set two, trading points until the score advanced to 12-10 in favor of the Knights. The Flying Dutchmen quickly went ahead by one with three straight points, but Neumann then went up 15-13 with three consecutive tallies of their own. LVC responded by delivering a 6-0 run to take a 19-5 lead. The program went in front on a stretch that included two kills by McInerney, an ace by Lindau and three attack errors. The Knights later tied it at 23-all, but Lebanon Valley closed out the set with a 3-1 run to even the match at 1-1. 

Neumann got its offense rolling early in the fourth set, taking a 14-7 advantage. LVC then answered with four straight points, narrowing its deficit to 14-11. The squad got back into the match with a run that included two kills by McInerney, a service error and an attack error. The programs then exchanged points until the score was 22-19 in favor of the Knights, before LVC received a kill by Lindau and an attack error to trim the deficit to one. Neumann ultimately took the set, going up 2-1 in the match. 

The Knights were ahead early in the fourth set, taking an 11-7 lead. But the Flying Dutchmen got right back into it with four straight points, evening the score at 11-11. The squad tied the set after a stretch that had three kills by Penner and an attack error. The programs followed this by swapping points for a significant portion of the fourth, going back-and-forth until Neumann led 22-21. The Knights then won the set with a 3-1 run, taking the match 3-1. 

Inside the Box Score:

• McInerney posted the most kills for Lebanon Valley, recording 24. 
• Nace led the Dutchmen with five blocks. 
• Stepler and Lindau both had a pair of aces. 
• Okronley led the program with 16 assists.
• Thomas registered the most digs on the team, delivering 22. 

Up Next
The Flying Dutchmen will return to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday, as the team will host Misericordia University for Senior Day at Sorrentino Gymnasium.  

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