The Lancaster Bible College women's volleyball lost its second straight match on Wednesday night, as the Chargers lost a close match to cross-county foe Elizabethtown, 3-1. The Blue Jays won, 25-19, 17-25, 26-24, 26-24 and improved to 9-1 this season, while the Chargers dropped to 2-6.
 
How it Happened: The Chargers grabbed an early lead in the opening set, but the Blue Jays won 10 of the next 13 points and took a 14-8 lead midway through the set after a Lancaster Bible error. The Blue Jays maintained their lead, and though the Chargers cut it to 23-17 and 24-19 late in the set, Elizabethtown took advantage of another Lancaster Bible error and took the opening set, 25-19.
 
Lancaster Bible recovered quickly in the second set, and jumped out to a 7-3 lead after three straight errors by the Blue Jays. The Chargers eventually built a 14-8 advantage after back-to-back kills from Kate Smoker and Courtney Goyak. The lead grew to 18-10 after a kill from Ashtyn Bouslog, and Smoker evened the match at 1-1 after her kill gave the Chargers a 25-17 set two victory.
 
The third set turned out to be a thriller, but did not start that way, as Elizabethtown built leads of 9-3 and then 15-6. Lancaster Bible methodically began to chip away at the deficit, and trailed just 18-15 after two straight blocks from Bekah Roberts, who got help on the second block from Allison Shuey. An ace from Shuey and a block assist by Bouslog and Roberts followed, and the Chargers trailed by just one. Elizabethtown won five of the next eight points and led, 23-20, but Lancaster Bible took four of the next five points and tied the set at 24-24 after a Blue Jays error. Bryanna Miller saved the Blue Jays however, and hit two straight kills to give Elizabethtown the set, 26-24 and a 2-1 match lead.
 
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair, though the Chargers took a 14-11 lead after two straight kills from Shuey and Goyak. Lancaster Bible eventually led, 16-13, but after an Elizabethtown timeout, the Blue Jays won six of seven points, and grabbed a 19-13 advantage. Lancaster Bible battled back and re-took the lead at 22-20 after an ace by Aleah Heyworth, but Elizabethtown won four of the next five points to earn match point at 24-23. After a long point, Goyak put home a kill for the Chargers and tied the set at 24-24. Again though, it was the Blue Jays who played well in the extended part of the set, and after a kill from Shelly Yohe gave Elizabethtown another match point, they won the match on a Lancaster Bible error.
 
Statistically Speaking: Lancaster Bible had 50 kills and 39 errors on 184 attempts for a .060 hitting percentage, while Elizabethtown had 39 kills and 23 errors on 159 attempts for a .101 hitting percentage…Lancaster Bible led in aces, 7-3, and digs, 88-80…Each team had five team blocks…Smoker finished with 14 kills and 12 digs for the Chargers, while Bouslog had 10 kills and 11 digs…Heyworth added nine kills and 19 digs, while Roberts had five kills and four blocks…Shuey finished with 40 assists, and Goyak had seven kills…Suzanna Whiting had a match-high 27 digs…Bryanna Miller led the Blue Jays with 13 kills and 13 digs.
 
The Coach Says: "We have to come out stronger in the first set of our matches," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Micah Herron said. "We did a great job coming back into the match in the second set, but we have been putting ourselves in a hole in the first set of matches, and we can't keep doing that."
 
-On Wednesday's Match: "We did execute our defensive plan pretty well, but the offensive errors hurt us tonight," Herron said. "All of that being said, there was a handful of points that decided the match, and we need to fine tune some little things, and tonight was one of our better all-around matches, and I'm proud of the way the team fought all night long."
 
-On the Team: "I need to keep the team positive, and there are little ways to do that, and I think myself and the coaching staff are finding them out," Herron said. "When we are positive and not thinking about the score, we seem to be successful, so I need to make sure we are doing those things and staying loose."
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 0-11 all-time against the Blue Jays, and 0-2 against Elizabethtown this season…Elizabethtown defeated the Chargers, 3-1 on August 30 at the Gettysburg Battlefield Classic…The Chargers are 1-1 at Horst Athletic Center this season…Smoker has double-digit kills in each of her last four matches…Lancaster Bible's 50 kills were the second-most in a match this season, and the 88 digs were a season high.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible is right back on the court on Thursday, as the Chargers head to Clarks Summit to face the host Defenders at 4 p.m., and then play a neutral site game against Misericordia at 6 p.m.