Hazleton falls in straight sets, 3-0, to Davis College

HAZLETON, Pa. - Penn State Hazleton (1-5, 0-0 PSUAC) dropped their fifth straight match on Wednesday as visiting Davis College spoiled the Lady Lions' home opener with a 3-0 (15-25, 18-25, 17-25) win. It is the third time the USCAA foes have met in the past two years, with Davis taking all three matches, including two in the Dr. Thomas Caccese Gymnasium.

Hazleton was led by junior Tina Beiland (Philadelphia, Pa.) who tallied team-highs with five assists, four kills and three service aces. Senior Aneesha Reese (Philadelphia, Pa.) added eight digs for the Lady Lions defensive effort, while junior Miranda Dunne (Montrose, Pa.) added four assists and three kills.

Davis was led by Alainey Banks with 13 kills, while Kaitlin Schue added 11 for the Falcons. Jessica Haenisch dished out 25 assists while Jamie Brown added 11 digs as Davis improves to 2-5.

Hazleton found themselves in an early hole as Haenisch served up five straight points as Davis took a 6-1 lead in the first set. Hazleton battled back to tie the score at 8-8, including kills from Reese and Beiland. A 10-3 Davis run made it 18-11, and despite a quick 3-0 run for Hazleton, the Falcons eventually pulled away for a 25-15 win in the opening set.

The Lady Lions took an early 3-1 lead in set two, and the teams traded points for much of the set, with ties at 3, 4, 5 and 6 before a 4-0 Davis spurt put them up 10-6. Hazleton rallied for four straight of their own behind Dunne's serve, and the teams would find themselves tied again at 12 and 13 apiece. Davis used a 12-5 run to end the set and take a 2-0 lead.

Early on set three played much like the middle set, although Hazleton fell behind early. The Lady Lions used a 4-1 stretch to tie the score at 4-4, but Davis pulled away with a 10-2 run to take a 14-6 lead. Hazleton was able to scatter some points but couldn't grab the momentum for a comeback, ultimately dropping the third set 25-17.

NEXT UP: Hazleton will travel to Penn State Worthington Scranton on Wednesday, September 16 for a 7:00 p.m. serve. The match will be the PSUAC opener for both teams as each squad looks to improve on their 2014 season.