The Lancaster Bible College women's volleyball team will be making its ninth straight appearance in the North Eastern Athletic Conference Playoffs on Tuesday night, but will be making history, as the Chargers host their first-ever NEAC Playoff event. The Chargers welcome Penn St. Berks to the Horst Athletic Center at 7 p.m., as the teams will look to advance to the NEAC Semifinals where top-seeded Morrisville State awaits.
 
The other NEAC Quarterfinal on Tuesday night features Gallaudet traveling to Penn St. Abington, and the winner of that match will take on second-seeded Penn St. Harrisburg on Saturday afternoon in Morrisville, N.Y. Saturday's NEAC Semifinal winners will meet in the NEAC Final on Sunday in Morrisville, N.Y., as the Mustangs are the host for the NEAC Final Four.
 
Team Records
Penn St. Berks: 15-14 overall, 7-4 NEAC
Lancaster Bible: 16-15 overall, 7-4 NEAC
 
Regular Season Meeting
Sept. 28, 2019: Lancaster Bible battled back from a 2-1 deficit to win in five sets in Reading, Pa. in late September, as the Chargers won, 16-25, 26-24, 17-25, 25-16, 15-8…Lancaster Bible had 52 kills and 31 errors on 163 attempts for a .129 hitting percentage, while the Nittany Lions had 47 kills and 25 errors on 148 attempts for a .149 hitting percentage…The Chargers held a 6-5 edge in blocks, while the Nittany Lions led in digs, 66-60, and aces, 10-7…Aleah Heyworth led the Chargers with 12 kills, while Zoe Barna had a match-high 13 to lead Penn St. Berks…Kate Smoker added 10 kills, 18 digs and four aces for the Chargers.
 
How They Got Here
Penn St. Berks: The Nittany Lions, along with Lancaster Bible, Gallaudet, and Wells, went 7-4 in NEAC play this season, and through conference tie-breakers ended up as the fifth seed…Penn St. Berks was 2-3 in its final five regular season matches…The Nittany Lions have been up-and-down for much of the season, though the team did win six of seven matches to begin the month of October.
 
Lancaster Bible: Like the Nittany Lions, it has been an up-and-down 2019 campaign for the Chargers…The team began the year, 0-4 and 2-6, but won 11 of 14 matches at the end of September and early October, eventually getting to 16-12, before ending the regular season with three straight losses…The Chargers were 2-3 in their final five matches.
 
Statistically Speaking
Penn St. Berks: The Nittany Lions posted a .152 hitting percentage this season, and had 11.1 kills per set…Penn St. Berks has posted 215 aces this year, and 1,843 digs…Zoe Barna leads the team with 240 kills, while Natalie Dwyer is right behind her with 235…Blair Eckel has 219 kills and 318 digs, while Julia Rathsam leads the team with 381 digs, and also has a team-best 908 assists.
 
Lancaster Bible: The Chargers had a .113 hitting percentage this season, and posted 10.4 kills per set…Lancaster Bible had 279 service aces this season, and 1,776 digs to go along with 135 blocks…Aleah Heyworth leads the Chargers with 215 kills, while Cassidy King had 188 kills…Courtney Goyak added 180 kills, and a team-high .209 hitting percentage…Kate Smoker (56) and Ashtyn Bouslog (52) each had over 50 aces, while Suzanna Whiting a team-high 404 digs…Allison Shuey posted 582 assists and 41 aces, while Faith Helman had 419 assists and 16 aces…Chloe King added 100 kills, and Bekah Roberts had a team-high 55 blocks.
 
Team Notes
Penn St. Berks: The Nittany Lions were 4-7 in true road matches this season, and 9-13 in all matches away from home…Penn St. Berks is returning to the NEAC Playoffs after missing the postseason in 2018…The team reached the NEAC Semifinals in 2017, before losing to Gallaudet, 3-1…Four Penn St. Berks players have posted 160 kills or more this season.
 
Lancaster Bible: The Chargers are 6-4 at home this season, including 3-1 against NEAC opponents…Lancaster Bible is 4-2 in five-set matches this season…The Chargers are 9-15 all-time against Penn St. Berks, including this season's 3-2 victory in Reading, Pa…Lancaster Bible lost to Penn St. Berks, 3-0 in the 2013 NEAC Quarterfinals.
 
Other NEAC Quarterfinal
Tuesday, Nov. 5: Gallaudet at Penn St. Abington, 7 p.m.
 
How to Follow
The live broadcast on the Chargers Sports Network begins at 6:50 p.m. and can be seen HERE.