ANNVILLE, Pa. ­­– The Lebanon Valley College volleyball team closed out the 2023 regular season with a 3-1 victory over Misericordia University on Wednesday night at Sorrentino Gymnasium. The win provides the Flying Dutchmen with the second seed in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Championship. 

Lebanon Valley (16-11, 6-1 MAC Freedom) delivered a strong effort against Misericordia (16-15, 4-3 MAC Freedom), defeating the squad in four competitive sets. Before the match began, the program honored its four seniors: outside hitter Taylor McInerney, outside hitter Kelli Heffer, middle hitter Olivia Nace and libero Kasey Thomas. Once the match began, the Dutchmen claimed the first two sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-19. The Cougars took the third set 25-23, before LVC won the fourth to secure the victory in the match. 

The Flying Dutchmen and Cougars went back-and-forth early in the first set, exchanging points until Misericordia was up 6-4. Lebanon Valley then responded with six consecutive points, providing the squad with a 10-6 lead. The program went ahead on a run that included four aces by junior Robyn Stepler and two kills by McInerney. The teams then traded points until LVC led 13-10, before the Dutchmen recorded four straight tallies to take a 17-10 advantage. Lebanon Valley extended its lead to seven on a run that included two kills by Heffer, an ace by junior Abigail Souder and an attack error. Misericordia then got back in the match, as the Dutchmen led just 23-21 late in the first. LVC followed this by closing out the set with a 2-1 stretch, securing the 25-22 win on a pair of service errors. 

Lebanon Valley kept its offense rolling early in the second set, as the squad jumped out to an early 6-1 advantage over Misericordia. The squad went up by five early in the set as a result of three kills by McInerney and three attack errors. The Cougars responded with a 9-5 stretch, trimming LVC's lead to 11-10. The Flying Dutchmen followed this with six points in a row, extending their advantage to 17-10. During this span, the squad registered points on two kills by McInerney, an ace by Stepler, two attack errors and a service error. Misericordia came back later in the set, narrowing its deficit to 19-17. Lebanon Valley answered back with a 6-2 run, winning the set 25-19 and taking a 2-0 lead in the match. The team secured the set two victory with kills by sophomore Mattea Penner, McInerney and Nace, as well as an ace by first-year Lyla Arfanella, a service error and an attack error. 

The Dutchmen began set three the same way they started the second, taking a 6-1 advantage over the Cougars. The squad went ahead early on two kills by McInerney, three attack errors and a bad set. Misericordia responded with a 10-7 stretch, pulling within two points of Lebanon Valley to make it a 13-11 set. The programs then battled throughout the rest of the third, as the Cougars came back to take a 24-22 lead late. Lebanon Valley answered with a kill by McInerney to narrow its deficit to one, but Misericordia followed this with a point to close out the set and make it a 2-1 match. 

LVC got off to a good start in the fourth set, taking an early 11-4 lead over Misericordia. The Flying Dutchmen jumped out to an early advantage on two kills and an ace by McInerney, a kill by first-year Teaguen Reynolds, four attack errors and three service errors. The Cougars then got back into the set, as the programs swapped points until the score was even at 13-13. Lebanon Valley responded with four consecutive points on three kills by McInerney and an attack error, giving the squad a 17-13 advantage. Misericordia later narrowed its deficit to 18-17, but LVC finished the set on a 7-4 run to win it 25-21 and take the match 3-1. During this stretch that solidified the victory, Nace recorded a kill and McInerney had a pair of aces. 

Inside the Box Score

• Lebanon Valley secured the second seed in the MAC Freedom Championship.
• The Flying Dutchmen have won each of their last three Senior Days. 
• McInerney led the program with 27 kills. 
• Stepler tallied the most assists for the Dutchmen, recording 32. The junior also had 11 digs during the match. 
• Thomas led the team with 14 digs, while also registering six assists. 
• Arfanella logged 10 digs during the win. 
• McInerney, Reynolds and first-year Libby Lindau each had two blocks. 

Up Next
The Flying Dutchmen will return to action Nov. 8 in the MAC Freedom Championship Semifinal, which will be hosted by the program at Sorrentino Gymnasium. Lebanon Valley will take on either Misericordia or Arcadia University.  

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