LA PLUME, PA- Keystone women's volleyball played eight sets Saturday at the Gambal Athletic Center, rallying from a two-set deficit against Penn State Berks before falling in five, then closing the day with a three-set win over SUNY Poly.
Penn State Berks 3 Keystone 2
Berks took the United East opener 25-14, 28-26, 17-25, 23-25, 15-11. After dropping the first set, Keystone pushed the second past 25 points in a back-and-forth contest that featured 18 ties and 15 lead changes. Berks edged out the 28-26 win, but the Giants stayed in the match.
Keystone took the third set 25-17 and followed with a 25-23 win in the fourth to force a decider. The fifth set was tight as well, with eight ties before Berks pulled away for the 15-11 finish. Across the match, the teams were tied 32 times and traded the lead 19 times.
Isabella Buonopane (Wake Forest, N.C./Archbishop Williams) led Keystone with 10 kills and added two service aces. Madison Woods (Camrose, Alberta, Canada/Ecole Camrose Composite) finished with seven kills and two solo blocks, while Nakaya Cridge (New Castle, IN/South Henry School Corporation) and Rachel Davis (Mont Belvieu, TX/Barbers Hill) had six kills apiece. Davis contributed a solo block and three block assists. Hannah Ely (Wyalusing, PA/Wyalusing Valley Jr./Sr.) recorded three aces and nine digs, and Nat Reyes (Lamont, CA/Arvin) led the Giants with 17 digs. Anna Johnson (Niles, MI/Niles) handed out 13 assists, with Naema Alatorre (Brownsville, TX/Idea Frontier) adding 10 assists and three aces.
Keystone 3 SUNY Polytechnic 0
Keystone returned to the court later in the day and swept SUNY Poly 25-21, 25-23, 27-25. The Giants had to win two close sets to complete the sweep, with the second and third both decided by two points. The match included 25 ties and 16 lead changes.
Keystone's attack improved as the SUNY Poly match went on. The Giants hit .116 in the first set, .185 in the second and .205 in the third, finishing with 31 kills and a .167 hitting percentage. They also recorded nine service aces and 58 digs.
Ely led the offense with 11 kills and completed a double-double with 12 digs. Buonopane added 10 kills on 24 swings with just two errors, hitting .333. Reyes anchored the defense with 18 digs and supplied five aces, while Johnson had 14 assists. Taylor Stephenson (Duryea, PA/Pittston Area) chipped in eight digs, and Lilly Mittelstadt (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/St. Francis) added five assists.
Up Next for the Giants
Keystone takes a few days off before heading on the road to face off against Immaculata University on September 29 at 6:00 PM.
