LA PLUME, PA- Thirteen service aces and an efficient night from Isabella Buonopane (Wake Forest, N.C./Archbishop Williams) helped Keystone College put away Penn College in straight sets Wednesday evening at the Gambal Athletic Center.
The Giants worked through a closely contested opening set before finding more room in the next two, earning a 25-22, 25-14, 25-18 United East Conference victory. Keystone improved to 5-19 overall and 2-3 in conference play.
Buonopane finished with a team-high nine kills on 13 attempts, committing just one attack error for a .615 hitting percentage. She also contributed eight digs, two assists and an ace. Sydney Frasier (Loveland, CO/Thompson Valley) and Nakaya Cridge (New Castle, IN/South Henry School Corporation) added six kills apiece, giving setter Anna Johnson (Niles, MI/Niles) several options throughout the match.
The first set featured 12 ties and six lead changes, with neither side finding much separation. Keystone recorded seven kills in the frame and held Penn College to a negative hitting percentage, coming away with the three-point win to take the early advantage.
The Giants' offense found its rhythm in the second. Keystone put down 11 kills with only two errors on 30 attempts, hitting .300 in its most efficient set of the evening. After the back-and-forth opener, the Giants took the second by 11 points to move within a set of the sweep.
Keystone followed with its highest kill total of the match in the third, finishing with 12 on 34 swings. The Giants hit .235 in the final frame and closed out the evening with a 25-18 win.
Taylor Stephenson (Duryea, PA/Pittston Area) led Keystone's serving effort with four aces and added seven digs. Hannah Ely (Wyalusing, PA/Wyalusing Valley Jr./Sr.) and Frasier each served three aces, while Buonopane, Cridge and Madison Woods (Camrose, Alberta, Canada/Ecole Camrose Composite) supplied one apiece. Six Giants contributed to the team's 13 aces.
Frasier paired her six kills with a .500 hitting percentage, four digs and two block assists. Cridge hit .364 and led Keystone with three block assists. Their work at the net helped the Giants finish with four total team blocks.
Rachel Davis (Mont Belvieu, TX/Barbers Hill) and Aliya Noriega (Anchorage, AK/West Anchorage) chipped in three kills each without an attack error. Davis hit .500 on six attempts, while Noriega finished at .375 on eight swings. Johnson collected 22 assists and two kills, and Lilly Mittelstadt (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/St. Francis) added three assists in two sets.
Buonopane and Ely shared the team lead with eight digs each, followed by Stephenson's seven and Frasier's four. Nat Reyes (Lamont, CA/Arvin) and Noriega added two digs apiece as Keystone totaled 34 for the match.
