The Lancaster Bible College Women's Volleyball team traveled to Media, Pa. to take on new United East member Penn St. Brandywine in a non-conference match on Tuesday night, earning a 3-1 road victory. The Chargers improve to 6-1 overall while the Lions drop to 1-4 overall.
 
How it Happened:
The Chargers raced to a 7-2 lead behind three straight service aces from senior Leah Helman, also landing their first four attacks for kills. LBC then rattled off seven consecutive points with two aces from sophomore Lea Sareyka, forcing a Lions timeout. The Chargers cruised for the rest of the set to close it out 25-9.
 
The second set was tough early for the Chargers, with Brandywine capitalizing on some miscues to build a 7-2 lead. Freshman Candace Fox landed her first career service ace to help bring the score to a tie, but the Lions continued to challenge Lancaster Bible, maintaining a small lead throughout the middle of the set. Back-to-back kills from sophomore Eden Belford gave the Chargers a lead, but the two teams traded points with some key blocks from the Lions keeping it close. After crossing the 20-point mark, LBC won five of the last seven points with kills from Belford and Sareyka and an ace from senior Emma Shaeffer to battle back and win set two 25-21.
 
Brandywine came out of the gate swinging in the third set, jumping ahead quick and rattling the Chargers early. The Lions led by as much as 11 in the set and LBC made several errors that led to two timeouts. The Chargers halted the momentum in the middle of the set with kills from sophomore Jessica Fletcher and junior Riley Dodrer, cutting the lead to six and forcing a Lions timeout. Brandywine controlled the rest of the set despite the Chargers' best efforts, forcing a fourth set with a 25-18 win.
 
The Chargers regained their footing early in set four, jumping to a 9-2 advantage behind kills from Dodrer and Belford and some good serves from Shaeffer. The lead was boosted to 12-4 after a block from Fletcher and Sheyenne King, but the Lions would not go away, chopping the lead to just three points at 15-12. It was Sareyka with the serves and the swings to propel the Chargers forward, with three kills and two aces to help close out the set 25-15 and give LBC their sixth win of the season.
 
By the Numbers:
- The Chargers dominated the kills battle 45-21 and led in aces 15-10, while the Lions had more blocks with a 7-2 advantage
- Eden Belford had a big day for the Chargers with a career-high 16 kills
- Leah Helman finished with 22 digs, her third game this season with 20+ digs
- Helman, Emma Shaeffer, and Lea Sareyka each had a game-high four service aces
- The Lions were led by Lexie Berry with four blocks
 
From the Coach:
"After playing really well the first two sets, the ladies battled back from an unfortunate 3rd set loss and showed great mental toughness to take the match in the 4th." ~ Head Coach Julie Brubaker
 
Information to Know:
The Chargers remain perfect against Penn St. Brandywine, improving to 5-0 all-time against the Lions in their first matchup since 2010. Lancaster Bible has started 2024 undefeated on the road through five games, their longest road winning streak since 2022. Senior libero Leah Helman surpassed 150 career service aces with four in tonight's game, while sophomore setter Madeline Reed passed both 700 career assists and 200 digs against Brandywine.
 
Up Next:
The Chargers travel south to Greenville, S.C. to take part in the BJU Invitational Tournament hosted by Bob Jones University this weekend, taking on Boyce College and Brevard College on Friday, September 13 beginning at 3:00 p.m.