The Lancaster Bible College Women's Volleyball took the road north to battle the Houghton Highlanders winning in three straight sets: 25-14, 25-17, and 25-19. The Chargers improve to 1-0 overall to start the season while the Highlanders drop to 0-1.
 
How It Happened: The Chargers picked up right where they left off as Morgan Fenstermacher and Faith Hammond put down back-to-back kills to open the first set. A service ace from Hammond put the Chargers with a 6-1 advantage early. The Highlanders cut it to within two points, 12-10, but the Chargers rallied pulling off a 13-4 run to win the first official set of the 2023 season.
 
The Highlanders opened the second set with a 3-0 lead, but it wouldn't last long as the Chargers rattled off seven points to take a 7-4 lead. Like the first set, the Chargers used a push in the middle of the set to push their lead to 18-10 behind two aces from senior Chloe King but the Highlanders responded bring the deficit to with three points. The Chargers however, kept up the offensive pressure to race to a 25-17 win and keep momentum rolling.
 
The third set proved to be much of the same as the Chargers got things going offensively from the likes of Fenstermacher, King, Jessica Fletcher, and Tessa Kwiatkowski. The Highlanders tried to hold on keeping the score within three points for much of the set but the Chargers rushed out to an 18-10 lead once again and cruised to a 25-17 win emphasized by a Fenstermacher game ending block.
 
From the Sidelines: "Great opener for our season. We played aggressive from the service line and tough defense. We are thankful to have the opportunity to be back on the court!" - Head Coach Julie Brubaker
 
By the Numbers: The Highlanders edged the Chargers in kills 25-23… the Chargers tallied 11 aces and five blocks… the Highlanders had five aces and three blocks… Chargers had 43 digs to Highlanders 34 digs… Jessica Fletcher led the Chargers in kills with seven… Faith Hammond had a game high four aces… Kwiatkowski tallied 15 assists and Leah Helman had 12 digs… Immel had eight kills for the Highlanders.

Information to Know: This was the Chargers' first ever matchup with Houghton in women's volleyball. Lancaster Bible picked up an opening-day win for the first time since 2021 when they defeated Johnson (Tenn.) in three sets. Junior Leah Helman's 12 digs tonight brought her past 750 career digs as she sits at 760 after tonight's contest, accomplishing that mark in just 53 matches played.
 
Up Next: The Chargers stay in Upstate New York for a tri-match with Maine – Fort Kent and Alfred State at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. tomorrow, September 2.