Penn State Mont Alto Volleyball USCAA Day One Recap

Virginia Beach- Penn State Mont Alto used Kylee Gooding's team-high 15 kills to defeat Johnson & Wales (25-17,25-13,26-34) this morning at the Virginia Beach Field House.

How it happened:

Set One- Mont Alto started off their first set with a kill from Gracie Vaughn. A small rally later the Nittany Lions found themselves up 11-5. After two Kylee Gooding service aces, the Nittany Lions edged out to a 14-6 lead. Johnson & Wales fought hard to narrow the margin to as little as five, but ultimately fell short as a kill from Kylee Gooding would give Mont Alto a 25-17 win in set one.

Set Two- After an attack error by Johnson & Wales' Aimee Evans. Back-to-back kills from Gracie Vaughn had Mont Alto leading 3-0 early. Johnson & Wales would climb back after a kill and an attack error from the Lions. A rally capped off by a Leslie Huckle kill had Mont Alto leading 18-8. The rally seemed too much for Johnson & Wales to handle as they were never able to claw back as an attack error from the Wildcats gave Mont Alto the win in set two 25-17.

Set Three- With just one set win left to take the match, Mont Alto found themselves in a back-and-forth affair which was clearly different from the first two sets. Early in set three, the Nittany Lions would be down for the first time suffering a 12-9 deficit. The Wildcats would add on, but not for long. A service ace from Freshman Zoey McCormack tied the score at 15, thus beginning yet another back-and-forth set. Late in the third set with the score tied 24-24, Kylee Gooding would give the Nittany Lions a one-point advantage with a kill. With just one point from taking match one, an error from Ahmarie Young closed the book on Johnson and Wales as Penn State completed the sweep by a score of 26-24.

Inside the Numbers- Kylee Gooding and Gracie Vaughn were both in double figures in kills with 15 and 11 respectively. Caroline Blickley (9) and Leslie Huckle (8) weren't far behind with kills. Kylie Denlinger led Mont Alto with 40 assists. On defense, Brooke Denlinger recorded 21 digs. Kylee Gooding also has herself a morning on defense recording 12.

Johnson & Wales' Emily Arends led the wildcats in kills with 12. Ahmarie Young recorded seven kills and on defense recorded 10 digs.

Match two: Penn State Mont Alto (25-10, 25-19, 25-14) defeated Paul Smith's College in straight sets to clinch a spot in Friday's semifinals. Gracie Vaughn registered 17 kills on 29 attack attempts to pace the offense. Kylee Gooding, Katie Sinks and Brooke Denlinger each had ten digs for the Nittany Lions.

Set One- Penn State Mont Alto had an outstanding offensive set, recording 15 kills to Paul Smith's College's four. A Gracie Vaughn kill early raced Mont Alto out to a 4-0 advantage. Paul Smith's College would battle back, trimming the Mont Alto lead to 10-8 mid way through the set. Mont Alto scored the next seven points of the set, capped off by two Gracie Vaughn kills and back-to-back service aces by Kylie Denlinger. Mont Alto won the last seven points of the first set, as Paul Smith's College committed four attack errors late in the set. Mont Alto took set one 25-10.

Set Two- A back and forth set had Paul Smith's College out to an early 8-7 lead. Mont Alto trailed much throughout, even winning by the slimmest of margins at 20-19 late in the set. Zoey McCormack would be an instrumental piece in Mont Alto's late rally, winning five straight points on its way to a 25-19 win in set two. McCormack recorded two late service aces with the score 22-19. 

Set Three- Mont Alto used that late momentum into the third set as they got out to an early 11-4 advantage. This spurt forced Paul Smith's College to take its first timeout of the set. Quickly following the timeout, Mont Alto won 10 of the next 12 points. With a 20-7 lead, Paul Smith's College gave one final push to try and win the third set. They would win seven of the next nine points to cut the deficit to 22-14. Kills by Kylee Gooding and a Cadance Newman service ace would push Mont Alto on top, winning the third and final set by a tally of 25-19.

Inside the numbers: Penn State Mont Alto recorded 40 kills in the three sets, paced by Gracie Vaughn (17) and Leslie Huckle (9). Kylie Denlinger provided 27 of the team's 34 assists. Brooke Denlinger had four assists.  Gracie Vaughn recorded four solo and three assisted blocks to compliment her team-high kills.

Up Next: Penn State Mont Alto will take on an opponent TBD at 4 p.m. on Friday in semifinal action