WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University women's volleyball team earned a hard-fought victory over the Penn State Hazleton Nittany Lions Wednesday night at the Marts Center 3-2 (25-15, 20-25, 18-25, 25-17, 15-8), coming back from being down two sets to one.
 
With the victory, the Colonels move to 2-0 on the year, while the Nittany Lions fall to 1-2.
 
The Colonels controlled most of the opening set, taking an 8-3 lead early. Hope Ousey (Exton, PA/Henderson) contributed two kills during that stretch. The teams traded small runs, with Penn State Hazleton closing the gap as close as five points with the score 15-10, but a six-point rally led by Nicole Fitzpatrick (New Hampton, NY/Minisink Valley) gave momentum to the Colonels to open the lead up 21-10. Fitzpatrick had three kills on the rally. A kill by Alexa Cassel (Mount Joy, PA/Lower Dauphin) gave the first set to Wilkes, 25-15.
 
The second set remained close as no team pulled an early advantage. With the score 9-8 in favor of the Colonels, the Nittany Lions went on their own six point run to take the lead 15-8. The Colonels responded with a four point run to keep the set close 15-12. Each team matched one another, trading points down the stretch, but Penn State Hazleton would keep their lead and take the set 25-20.
 
The Nittany Lions took that momentum from the second set and turned it into a dominant third set, stringing together five runs of three or more points to take the set 25-18. Fitzpatrick led the Colonels offense in this set with four kills.
 
The fourth set saw the Colonels take a commanding lead early, recording the largest run of the game at eight points to take an early 9-2 lead. Alexis Reedy (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra Area) scored four service aces during that stretch. While the Nittany Lions tried to respond with a three point run, the Colonels followed with a four point run to make the set 14-6. Another four point run late gave the Colonels a commanding 22-9 lead, but Penn State Hazleton didn't go down without a fight, putting themselves right back into the match with a six point run to make the game 22-15. It wasn't enough to close the gap however, as the Colonels forced a decisive fifth set with a 25-17 win.
 
Wilkes dominated the fifth set, taking a commanding lead 8-3 after a six point run. Another four point run to make it 13-6 before the Nittany Lions took two points, but the Colonels put the game away 15-8 to win 3-2.
 
Ousey led the Colonels in kills with ten, while Fitzpatrick and Reedy both contributed nine. Reedy also led the team in aces and digs with six and 15 respectively. Cassel led Wilkes in assists with 30.
 
Sydney Mack led the Nittany Lions in kills with 15, Nora Jones led in digs with 16, and Alayna Welsh led in aces with ten. Sophia Del Vacchio led Penn State Hazelton in assists with 24.
 
The Colonels continue their home stand with a tri-match on Saturday, September 9^th as they take on Delaware Valley University at 11:00 a.m. and Penn State Altoona at 3:00 p.m. at the Marts Center.