Lancaster Bible College Athletics

The Lancaster Bible College Women's Volleyball team had another road match on Thursday night as they traveled to Aston, Pa. at Neumann University to face Eastern in non-conference play, dropping the match 3-1 to the Eagles. The Chargers drop to 4-7 overall and 1-1 in the United East while the Eagles improve to 6-6 overall and 1-0 in the MAC Commonwealth.
 
How it Happened:
The Eagles flew to a 6-2 lead in set one before a kill and a service ace from Jessica Fletcher (Sr.) got the score back to within two. After another Eastern point, the Chargers went on a four-point run capped by a service ace from Kaitlyn Weitzel (Jr.) to swing ahead 8-7 in the set. Eastern responded with five straight points to retake the lead, then another five in a row right after to go up by eight points to take control of the set. The teams alternated points down the stretch, with Eastern holding on to take set one 25-18.
 
Eastern built another early lead in set two as they went up 7-2, then Weitzel had another ace to make it a four-point game. The Eagles then won 10 of the next 12 points as they ran away with the set in full control, finishing it on an ace to go up 2-0 in the match after a 25-1 set win.
 
After falling behind 3-1, the Chargers used a kill and a block from Chloe Belford (Sr.) and an ace by Faith Rex (Jr.) to score four in a row and take a 5-3 lead. Eastern swung back ahead with a four-point run of their own, but an ace from Fletcher tied it right back up at 8-8. Eastern pulled ahead for a four-point lead, but a Fletcher kill sparked a four-point LBC run later on as they took the lead back at 18-17. The Chargers seized momentum from there as they won seven of the final eight points, with Lea Sareyka (Sr.) landing three kills on the run as they took set 25-19 to extend the match.
 
The Eagles began with a 4-1 lead in set four, but the Chargers saw an ace from Candace Fox (Jr.) to bring the set back to one point at 6-5. Eastern saw their lead balloon to seven, but an Eden Belford (Sr.) kill sparked a run of four for LBC that ended with another Weitzel ace to make the score 15-12. Despite a pair of late kills by Sareyka, the Eagles maintained their lead as they took the set 25-18 to win the match over the Chargers.
 
By the Numbers:
Team Stats
- Kills: Lancaster Bible 36, Eastern 44
- Digs: Lancaster Bible 53, Eastern 56
- Blocks: Lancaster Bible 5, Eastern 11
- Aces: Lancaster Bible 7, Eastern 10
 
Key Performances
- Lea Sareyka: 10 Kills, 10 Digs
- Tessa Kwiatkowski: 17 Assists, 8 Digs
- Jessica Fletcher: 9 Kills, 9 Digs, 2 Aces, 2 Blocks
- Jessie Schreiber (EAS): 11 Kills (match-high), .409 attack %, 6 Blocks
- Sarah Furey (EAS): 19 Assists, 10 Digs
- Lane McLaughlin (EAS): 9 Blocks (match-high)

Information to Know:
This was the fifth matchup between the Chargers and Eagles all-time with the Eagles winning each of the five games. This was the first time the Chargers have played back-to-back true road games since September 1-2 of 2023, traveling to St. Mary's City, Md. yesterday and Aston, Pa. today. Lea Sareyka moved into 5th-Place in program history in total attacks (TAs) as she passes Emily Olson (2013-16), attacking the ball 2,543 times in four seasons. Jessica Fletcher became the 9th player in program history to surpass 700 career kills in tonight's match, now sitting at 703 career kills and joining Sareyka as active players over 700 kills. Fletcher also moved up into 13th all-time for the Chargers in block assists with 80, adding two tonight and passing Alyssa Bowen (2015-16) on the list.
 
Up Next:
The Chargers return home as they host another weekend tri-match on Saturday, October 3, taking on Notre Dame (Md.) in United East play at 11:00 a.m. and Arcadia in non-conference play at 3:00 p.m.