The Penn State New Kensington women's volleyball team scored an impressive victory on Wednesday against Penn State Greater Allegheny, sweeping the season series in the process. Penn State New Kensington prevailed at home in straight sets, 25-20, 26-24 and 25-19. With the win, PSNK improved its mark to 6-9 in Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference play, and 7-12 overall. Meanwhile, Greater Allegheny's record fell to 6-9 in PSUAC action, and 8-12 overall.
In the opening set, Greater Allegheny jumped out to an early edge, as the visitors led 9-4. Momentum quickly shifted once New Kensington broke serve, however, as freshman Janet Surma went to the line. Keyed by her strong service, New Kensington scored 11 consecutive points. While Greater Allegheny responded with a run of its own to pull even later in the set, the home squad finished on a 9-4 surge to take the first set.
The Greater Allegheny Lions started the second set on fire, as they scored the first six points. The road squad held the lead for the majority of the set, but PSNK later scored five in a row to gain a 21-19 advantage. The back-and-forth battle continued, as Greater Allegheny pulled within a single point of evening the match, as it held a 24-23 lead. Penn State New Kensington showed its resolve, though, breaking serve and then taking the set with junior Cora Rejniak on the service line for the final two points.
Riding the momentum from its comeback win in the previous set, Penn State New Kensington held the lead for the early portion of the third set. Greater Allegheny pulled even at 10-10, but PSNK scored six straight, propelled by the work of freshman Kasey Klapheke on the line. New Kensington never relinquished the lead, and ultimately closed out the set to secure the 3-0 victory.
Among the standout performers for Penn State New Kensington were freshman Brittany Kotvas, who had a game-best 14 kills, as well as 11 digs. Fellow freshman Kaylea Flick was second on the squad with eight kills, to go with a team-leading nine assists and eight digs. Additionally, Surma paced the defensive effort with 14 digs.
In the setback, Kaylee Holtzman paced Greater Allegheny with eight kills, while Laura Vazquez Diaz contributed seven kills and 16 digs, which tied with Haley Maksin for the team lead. Also, Dolores Kuzmanko guided the offense with 14 assists.
Penn State New Kensington concludes its regular-season slate at home on Saturday, when it hosts Penn State Du Bois at 2 p.m.
