HAZLETON, Pa. – Senior Sierra Hines (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Holy Redeemer) set a new personal record for kills in a single game with 21 to help the Wilkes women's volleyball team to their first win of the 2024 season over Penn State Hazleton on Tuesday night. The Colonels won in five sets: 25-22, 24-26, 25-21, 18-25, 17-15.

Down 19-22 late in a back and forth first set, Wilkes went on a six-point tear to take the first set thanks to two kills by Hines and four Penn State attack errors.

In the second set, Wilkes went up early 8-3 thanks to two Jenna Baron (Nanticoke, PA/Greater Nanticoke Area) service aces and three Hines kills. They kept the pressure on to take an 18-13 lead, but eventually fell in extra points as Hazleton came back to take the set 24-26.

The Colonels started the third set on fire, going up 10-1 with five points coming from service aces. With the score 15-7, Wilkes went on a 6-2 run to extend their lead to 21-9. Penn State Hazleton made a massive comeback to bring the set as close as 24-21, but Baron put the set away to take a 2-1 match lead.

Up 16-15 in the fourth set, Wilkes saw it slip from their hands as a 2-10 run by Penn State sent the match to five sets with an 18-25 win.

The final set was as back and forth as the match itself, reaching a point where both teams were deadlocked at 14 points each. Ava Wahlers (Coudersport, PA/Coudersport) put the Colonels ahead with a kill, but Hazleton equalized. Then, Hines and Wahlers finished the game with two kills to get the win.

Hines' new single-game high 21 kills led the Wilkes offense, while Alexa Cassel (Mount Joy, PA/Lower Dauphin) dished out 44 assists. Emma Sanford (Las Vegas, NV/Arbor View) led the defense with 26 digs, a new career-best for the sophomore, followed closely by Kendra Kalp (Somerset, PA/Rockwood) with 20.

Sydney Mack led Penn State Hazleton with 21 kills and Sophia Del Vacchio led the team in assists with 43. On defense, Nora Jones led the team with 28 digs.

The Colonels return to action this weekend as they travel to Middletown, Pa. for a tri-match against Penn State Harrisburg and Rutgers-Camden. The Colonels first match against the hosts Harrisburg is set for 12:00 p.m.