The Lancaster Bible College Women's Volleyball team earned a 3-0 victory over Cairn on Thursday night, securing a first-round bye in the United East Playoffs next week. History was made for the Chargers as senior Leah Helman became the all-time program leader in digs in the second set, finishing the game with 1,794 career digs. The Chargers improve to 21-6 overall and 8-1 in conference, while the Highlanders drop to 15-6 overall and finish 7-3 in United East play.
 
How it Happened:
The Chargers started with a 5-1 lead as Helman landed a service ace, then an ace from senior Sheyenne King made it a 12-6 game in favor of the Chargers. The Highlanders battled back with four in a row later in the set to cut it to one, but Lancaster Bible responded with a seven-point run featuring three kills from sophomore Lea Sareyka to help put away the set for the Chargers 25-16.
 
Sophomore Eden Belford knocked two kills to get set two started, then added another to make it 5-2 early. It was in the middle of the set that Helman notched her 1,784th career dig, breaking the program record in the process. The Chargers led by as many as seven points in the set, but Cairn rallied late to make it a two-point game. The Chargers won the final five points of the set, closing it out 25-18 on a block by freshman Madison Reap and junior Riley Dodrer.
 
Lancaster Bible took control early in set three with a 9-1 advantage, accented by three aces from Helman and two aces from Reap. The Chargers continued their momentum through the set with kills from Sareyka, Belford, and sophomore Jessica Fletcher to maintain the lead. Like set two, LBC won the final five points with a kill and an ace from Sareyka to help put the finishing touches on Cairn 25-13 and improve to 8-1 in United East play.
 
By the Numbers:
- The Chargers led the Highlanders in every category, landing 13 aces as a team to Cairn's seven and winning the kills battle 36-23
- Eden Belford and Lea Sareyka each recorded double-digit kills with 11 and 10 respectively
- Madeline Reed distributed 20 assists and grabbed 11 digs
- Leah Helman ended the game with 17 digs, adding four aces and six assists as well
- The Highlanders were led by Hendryl Peabody with seven kills
 
From the Coach:
"Our team played fiercely and hungry to win. We also played composed under some pressure situations. Glad to pull out a convincing win tonight. Congrats to Leah Helman on an awesome career and passing the Digs record!" ~ Head Coach Julie Brubaker
 
Information to Know:
The Chargers are now 13-24 all-time against Cairn and have won 10 straight dating back to 2014. Lancaster Bible has tied a program record with 21 wins for the season, just their second 20-win season and the first since 2018 when they finished 21-9. The Chargers have secured a first-round bye in the United East Postseason after defeating Cairn today, reaching an 8-1 conference record with one game to go. As mentioned, Leah Helman set a new program record with 1,794 career digs, dethroning Myranda Kemrer ('18) with 1,783 digs. Helman is also closing in on 200 career service aces, adding four to her total tonight and making it 195 aces for her career. Additionally, Riley Dodrer surpassed 100 career blocks in tonight's game, becoming just the 17th player in program history to record 100+ blocks.
 
Up Next:
The Chargers conclude the regular season on Saturday, November 2 as they host Penn St. Brandywine and Arcadia for a tri-match starting at 12:00 p.m. The team will also recognize Senior Day.