Lady Lions roll to 3-0 victory at Trinity Washington

Washington D.C. - The Lady Lions made swift work of their opponent on Tuesday afternoon, sweeping Trinity Washington University in straight sets to capture their third consecutive win and improving their record to 3-2 on the 2018 season. 

Hazleton pulled away early in each of the frames and improved as they moved along, taking the match by scores of 25-14, 25-8 and 25-5. Highlighting the match was the service game of the Lady Lions. Trinity had no answer for the Lady Lion's delivery who earned over one third of their scores via the ace. 

Senior Lauren Nietz (Coaldale, Pa.) started the hit parade and kept the momentum going as the day progressed. The Hazleton libero scored three aces that contributed to a lightning fast 6-0 start for Hazleton that would eventually balloon to a hefty 19-5 spread in favor of Hazleton. With game one in hand, Nietz would repeat that effort to kick off the second set but then give way to freshman Kaelee Kane (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) who served nine straight times before allowing a sideout. Hazleton would nurse their 12 point advantage until senior Hailey Trasacco (Hamden, Ct.) stepped to the line, firing four aces of her own and all but closing out the second stanza.

With a comfortable 2-0 lead, the Lady Lions continued to roll their way to victory in the final frame, adding eight service aces in set number three. Sophomore Samaya Hornsby (Richmond, Ca.) delivered a 12 point run of her own including four successful aces as Hazleton cruised to a 25-5 set and 3-0 match victory.

Seven Lady Lions would tally an ace on the afternoon but it was Nietz, Hornsby and Trasacco inflicting the majority of the damage. Nietz would notch an impressive double-figure effort from the line while Hornsby and Trasacco adding five each. Sophomore Chelsea Dominguez (Bronx, Ny.) tacked on six kills in 13 attempts to lead the attack while Alessandra Banta (Coatesville, Pa.) dished out 17 assists. 

Next up: Hazleton will look to keep the streak in tact as they enter Penn State University Athletic Conference play on Thursday night. The newly revamped Lady Lions will face the defending PSUAC champions in Penn State Brandywine at 7:00 p.m. in the Dr. Thomas M. Caccese Gymnasium.