CENTER, VALLEY, Pa. – Taylor McInerney had a match-high 26 kills to lead the Lebanon Valley Volleyball team on Wednesday evening in a tough 3-2 defeat to host DeSales University in Center Valley in the first conference match of the year.
 
The Dutchmen got off to a slow start but came back to take the opening set 26-24. DeSales won a close second set 25-23 before LVC had a convincing 25-18 third set victory. The Bulldogs rallied to win the fourth set 25-20 and then took the match with a 15-12 victory in the fifth set.
 
The Bulldogs used a strong start to get out to a 9-4 lead. A service error and block by Teaguen Reynolds and McInerney cut the deficit to 9-6. The Dutchmen used a pair of service aces by Lyla Arfanella during a 4-0 run to get within one point at 13-12. DeSales was able to keep their lead and used a 3-1 run to take a 22-19 advantage. A service error for the Dutchmen put the Bulldogs at set point but LVC rallied to win the next four points to take the set 26-24. Margaret Cole and Mattea Penner had a big block on the set's final point.
 
DeSales got out to a lead in the second set as they won six of the first eight points. Penner stopped the run with a kill and then LVC scored three straight points with Sofia Okronley serving to tie the set up at six. The Bulldogs and Dutchmen traded two-point runs unti DeSales had a 13-11 lead. Libby Lindau had a big kill to make it a one-point set and then DSU scored the next three points to go up by four. The Dutchmen fought back and a kill by Jillian Jefferys ended a 6-1 run and gave LVC a 19-18 lead. DeSales responded with the next three points followed by the Dutchmen scoring three consecutive points. DeSales retook the lead and had set point at 24-22 when McInerney had a big kill to extend the set. DeSales scored the next point to tie the match up at one.
 
The Dutchmen got out to a strong start in the third set scoring four of the first five points. The teams traded points until a block by Reynolds and McInerney gave the Dutchmen an 8-4 advantage. McInerney had three consecutive kills and then a service ace by Robyn Stepler pushed the lead to 12-5. DeSales was able to cut the advantage to five points at 16-11 but Jefferys and McInerney had back-to-back kills to push it back up to seven. Riley Mack and Stepler had kills on back-to-back points to give the Dutchmen a 24-15 lead. DeSales held off set point for three consecutive points until Mack ended the set with a kill.
 
LVC scored the first five points of the fourth set with Penner serving. The Bulldogs scored three of the next four points to cut things to 6-3. LVC responded with the next four points to go up by seven points. DSU used a big run to bring the set to 11-10 and took their first lead of the set four points later. The Bulldogs had a 15-13 lead when Margaret Cole had a kill and then McInerney had back-to-back points to give the Dutchmen back the lead at 16-15. The teams battled back-and-forth until a McInerney kill tied the set at 19. DSU finished the set strong with six of the next seven points to tie the match up at two sets.
 
LVC scored the first point of the fifth set and the teams traded the first nine points. A block by Stepler and a kill by Penner gave the Dutchmen a 7-4 lead. The Bulldogs scored the next two points before a Penner kill had the teams switch sides with LVC leading 8-6. DeSales scored six of the next seven points to take a 12-9 lead. A kill by McInerney made it 12-10 but the Bulldogs scored the next two points to get to match point. The Dutchmen won the next two points on kills by McInerney and Penner before DeSales was able to score the final point to pick up the five-set victory.
 
Inside the Box

• McInerney had a .339 hitting percentage to record her season-high 26 kills. The outside hitter also had three block assists and four digs.
• Jefferys also had double-digit kills with a career-high 10.
• Stepler had 28 assists, two aces, eight digs, and a solo block.
• Okronley added a season-high 23 assists and seven digs.
• Abigail Souder had 16 digs and three assists. She was one dig shy of her season high.
• Lindau had nine kills while Penner added eight kills and eight digs.
• Cole and Reynolds had three block assists each.

Up Next
LVC will head to Selinsgrove on Saturday to take on Buffalo State University and Susquehanna University in a tri-match. The Dutchmen will take on the Bengals at 1 p.m. before finishing up the day against the host River Hawks at 3 p.m.

Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on Instagram, X, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC Athletics.