Lions Claim Pair Of Five-Set Victories In Road Tri-Match

BRYN ATHYN, Pennsylvania -- The Penn State Brandywine volleyball team earned a pair of five-set triumphs over NCAA Division III opponents on Saturday afternoon, downing tri-match host Bryn Athyn and Baptist Bible.

Brandywine (3-4) defeated Bryn Athyn by set scores of 15-25, 25-18, 21-25, 26-24, 15-13. The Lions claimed the first two sets against the Defenders before dropping the next two, including a lengthy 35-33 battle during the third set, but regrouped to take the fifth set 15-2.

During the opener with Bryn Athyn, freshman Nicole Poissant handed out a match-best 35 assists, while tying for the team lead with 12 digs and a pair of aces. Classmate Melanie Kempf recorded 12 kills to lead the offense and junior Nicole Costa added eight.

The Lions tallied 16 blocks, led by six from Kempf, while junior Nicole Costa added five and Molly Nichols collected four.

Costa racked up 18 kills and eight more blocks against Baptist Bible. Nichols chipped in seven blocks and junior Kimberly Russo collected a team-best 18 digs.

Poissant dished out 38 assists, a career high, a recorded all nine of the Lions' service aces.

Penn State Brandywine opens PSUAC play on Tuesday with a 7:00 pm road trip to Penn State York.