Nittany Lions Roar Past Women’s Volleyball, 3-1

MARCY, N.Y. – The Wells College women's volleyball team posted a 3-1 loss to the Nittany Lions of Penn St.-Berks to open North Eastern Athletic Conference play on Friday at SUNY Institute of Technology. With the loss, Wells falls to 1-9 overall on the year while dropping their first NEAC contest of the year while the Nittany Lions (4-3) collect their fourth overall victory alongside their first win in league play.

Penn St.-Berks secured the victory via set scores of 25-20, 25-18, 18-25 and 25-21. Despite a lead of 2-0 entering the third set, Wells was able to battle back with a 25-18 victory to force a fourth set for only the third time this season.

Freshman Meredith Kadjeski (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) led all Express players with 14 kills to her credit, recording only five errors alongside three solo blocks and seven digs defensively. Junior Jessilyn Artaho-Aki hit a collective .225 (12-3-40), securing a team-best two service aces and 12 digs to rank second on the team in the latter category.

Setter Taryn Heath (Truxton, N.Y.) assisted 26 of her team's 37 kills and contributed with three digs. Libero Nicole Loeven (Pawling, N.Y.) led all Express players on defense with 13 digs. Freshman Nadine Pershyn (Buffalo, N.Y.) contributed eight digs defensively.

For Penn St.-Berks, the Nittany Lions utilized 17 kills from Sophia Zhang and 12 from Cassidy Schultz. Jordan Heath racked up 40 assists for the Nittany Lions while the team combined for 85 digs – four different players tallied double-digit dig totals. In addition to her 12 kills, Schultz posted a double-double with as many digs.

Wells returns to action Saturday, Sept. 21 as they play two additional NEAC matches against league-rivals St. Elizabeth and Lancaster Bible beginning at 10:00 a.m. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the Wells College athletic department by "liking" us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/WellsExpress) and subscribing to our Twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/WellsExpress).