Posted: Sep 03, 2025
Alvernia Downs Brandywine During Opening Match
Alvernia
(2-1,0-0 MAC Commonwe)
3
Penn State Brandywine
(0-1,0-0 United East)
0
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Alvernia (2-1,0-0 MAC Commonwe) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
Penn State Brandywine (0-1,0-0 United East) | 10 | 18 | 10 | 0 |
MEDIA, Pa. -- The Penn State Brandywine volleyball team suffered a three-set defeat against Alvernia as the Lions opened the 2025 season on Wednesday night. Set scores for the match were 10-25, 18-25, 10-25.
Brandywine started its season slow, falling behind 13-3 early in the first set. The Lions trimmed the margin to single digits just once, following a kill from Morgan Rizer (Denton, Md./North Caroline) and an Alvernia error, but the visitors pulled away late in the set to claim a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Lions trailed 4-2 in set No. 2 before tallying three-straight points to vault in front. Brandywine's edge grew to three points at 16-13 thanks to a pair of Golden Wolves' errors and a kill from Nia Moore (Gainesville, Va./Patriot). Alvernia responded with the next four points and closed the frame on a 12-2 run to win the second second.
Alvernia broke the final stanza opening with a 13-3 surge and never let the Lions narrow the margin to fewer than 11 points the rest of the way to complete the sweep.
Moore and Hailey Piccirillo (Broadlands, Va./Virginia Academy) tied for the team lead with five kills, while Lara Zima (Hollywood, Fla./Westminster Academy) dished out nine assists and Shayla Howell (Newark, Del./St. George's Tech) handed out seven helpers.
Defensively, Piccirillo collected a team-best 11 digs, while Zima tallied eight digs.
Brandywine hosts Bryn Mawr (11:00 AM) and Penn State Abington (3:00 PM) for a tri-match on Saturday.
