ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst volleyball team lost to Indiana (Pa.) in four sets in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action on Saturday. The Lakers slip to 6-11 overall record while falling to a 1-5 PSAC record. Mercyhurst claimed set three (25-22) leaving Indiana (Pa.) to claim sets one (27-25), two (25-20), and four (25-19).
Alyssa Zirnheld led the Lakers offense by posting 14 kills, and three aces.
Katie Baird followed closely behind posting 11 kills, one ace, and one block assist.
Shelby Chesko and
Tess Ganich contributed seven and six kills respectively.
Makayla Mollé led assists with 19, while
Abby Rose recorded 17. Ganich, and Kling each had two service aces, while Baird, and Mollé each had one.
Hannah Vuylsteke led the team defensively having 15 digs, Baird posted 13, and Molle contributed 10.
Alyssa Kling posted the most blocks having four total, one of which was a solo-block.
Leah Kern and Chesko each contributed 3 block assists a piece.
Indiana was led by Natalie Cigneti who recorded 15 kills, Gabby Egler posted 12.
Mercyhurst would lead by as much as three points in the first set, when they jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Indiana would knot the action at 5-5, they then earned a set high lead of three points when they led 9-6. From that point on no team would lead by more than two points for the remainder of the set. The Lakers would lead six more time throughout the set, the last time when they held a 25-24. Indiana would claim three straight points to claim victory 27-25.
The Lakers would claim an early 2-1 lead on an attack error, that would be their largest lead of the set. Mercyhurst would lead twice more taking the edge of Indiana 7-6 on an ace from Kling, and 9-8 on an attack error. Indiana broke a 15-15 scoring deadlock and went on a three-point run earning a 18-15 lead which they would use to claim the second set.
The Lakers would claim set three 25-22 by going on three streaks. The first was a three-point streak in the beginning of the set which they jumped to a 3-1 lead. The second was a four-point streak where they jumped out to an 8-4 lead, on an ace from Rose, a kill from Zirnheld, and two attack errors. This four-point lead would be the largest of the set. Mercyhurst was able to go on a three-point run breaking a 22-22 tie on a pair of errors, and a kill from Zirnheld to force a fourth set.
Mercyhurst was able to secure a 16-8 lead in the fourth but was unable to hold off an Indiana comeback. Indiana was able to take their first lead of the set when they went on two large streaks. The trailing Crimson Hawks went on a five-point streak to trail 13-16. Mercyhurst would claim two of the next three points off of kills from Chesko and Ganich, to lead 18-14. Indiana would go on a 10 point streak to lead 24-18. Mercyhurst would claim a point from a bad set but were unable to hold off the final kill coming from Indiana's Cignetti.
The Lakers will return to action on Tuesday at 7:00 pm, when they take on cross town rival Gannon in conference action. The contest will be held on the campus of Gannon University.
