The Lancaster Bible College Women's Volleyball team hosted their final tri-match of the season as they concluded their regular season schedule on Saturday, earning two wins with 3-0 sweeps over Alvernia and King's (Pa.) in non-conference play. The Chargers head into the postseason at 16-10 overall and 8-2 in the United East while the Golden Wolves drop to 10-15 overall and 3-4 in the MAC Commonwealth and the Monarchs move to 15-9 overall and 2-5 in the MAC Freedom.
vs Alvernia:
3-0 WIN (25-13, 25-18, 25-23)
How it Happened:
Alvernia began set one with a 3-0 lead, but the Chargers flipped it around right away with a 7-1 run that was capped by back-to-back service aces by
Chloe Belford (Sr.). the teams traded pairs of points before a four-point run by the Chargers to make the lead 15-9, getting an ace by
Madison Reap (Jr.) to cap the run.
Hannah Helmer (Fr.) then had a pair of kills to extend the lead to ten points, then
Jessica Fletcher (Sr.) had two kills to help close out set one for LBC 25-13.
The teams traded the first six points before LBC got out to an 8-4 lead, using a block by
Eden Belford (Sr.) and
Samantha Hey (So.) to reach that mark after a three-point run. The Chargers then extended the lead to 14-7 after five straight points, using two blocks by
Chloe Belford to power the surge. Alvernia got back within four points before the teams began alternating blows for ten straight points, then the Chargers closed the set with four of the final points as
Lea Sareyka (Sr.) had two kills for a 25-18 set two victory.
Sareyka had a block and a kill early in set three for a 3-1 LBC lead, then two more for Sareyka on a four-point Chargers burst ended with a Reap service ace as they led 11-5. The Golden Wolves powered their way back into the set with several short runs, tying the game at 15-15 before the Chargers separated with four straight points, ending the run with a service ace from
Madeline Reed (Sr.). Sareyka had a kill to reach match point, but Alvernia fended off four straight in a last-ditch effort before Helmer sealed the deal with a kill, earning the 25-23 set win and completing the sweep for Lancaster Bible.
By the Numbers:
Team Stats
- Kills: Alvernia 28,
Lancaster Bible 36
- Digs: Alvernia 63,
Lancaster Bible 64
- Blocks: Alvernia 2,
Lancaster Bible 7
- Aces: Alvernia 3,
Lancaster Bible 10
Key Performances
-
Lea Sareyka: 15 Kills (match-high), .359 attack %, 2 Aces
-
Tessa Kwiatkowski (Sr.): 15 Assists, 10 Digs
-
Madison Reap: 16 Digs, 5 Assists, 3 Aces (match-high)
- Allison Wolf (ALV): 7 Kills, 13 Digs, 2 Blocks
- Caroline Buggy (ALV): 17 Digs (match-high)
- Olivia VonNeida (ALV): 22 Assists (match-high), 15 Digs
vs King's (Pa.):
3-0 WIN (25-17, 25-23, 25-15)
How it Happened:
Lea Sareyka had a pair of early kills and
Chloe Belford landed two solo blocks as the Chargers raced to a 9-3 lead in the first set. The Monarchs powered back within two at 10-8, then the teams traded 10 straight points before a dump by
Tessa Kwiatkowski sparked a run of four points for LBC with
Jessica Fletcher landing two kills as well for a 20-13 lead. Sareyka and
Samantha Hey had a block later on for a seven-point lead, then
Eden Belford had a kill to finish off set one 25-17 for Lancaster Bible.
The teams traded the first six points before the Monarchs took a 6-4 lead, but a kill by
Eden Belford and two from Sareyka got the Chargers back on top at 7-6. Fletcher then powered a three-point run by herself with two kills and a block, but King's (Pa.) responded to tie the set at 13-13.
Eden Belford then had two kills and
Maggie Kwiatkowski (Jr.) landed a service ace as the Chargers scored four in a row, then the two teams had eight straight alternating points before a three-point run by the Monarchs to fend off set point. The Chargers, however, got the final point in the set on a kill by Hey to win 25-23 and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
Chloe Belford had a kill and a block for a 3-2 lead in set three, then Sareyka had three service aces as the Chargers went on their longest run of the day at seven points for a 10-4 advantage. Later on,
Eden Belford had two kills and a block to power a four-point streak from LBC, then
Chloe Belford had two more kills as the Chargers took a 20-10 lead. After a kill by
Hannah Helmer,
Chloe Stenberg (Sr.) came in and put the finishing touches on the victory with a service ace to win 25-15 and complete the Chargers' regular season with a pair of home victories.
By the Numbers:
Team Stats
- Kills: King's (Pa.) 29,
Lancaster Bible 45
- Digs: King's (Pa.) 57,
Lancaster Bible 64
- Blocks: King's (Pa.) 4,
Lancaster Bible 10
- Aces: King's (Pa.) 1,
Lancaster Bible 7
Key Performances
-
Eden Belford: 12 Kills (match-high), .391 attack %
-
Madison Reap: 17 Digs
-
Madeline Reed: 21 Assists (match-high), 3 Digs
-
Chloe Belford: 6 Blocks (match-high), 6 Digs
(career-high)
- Weronika Malinowski (KC): 10 Kills, 7 Digs
- Riley McArdle (KC): 21 Digs (match-high)
Information to Know:
The Chargers improve to 7-4 all-time against Alvernia with five straight wins against the Golden Wolves while earning their first victory over King's (Pa.) in their first matchup with the Monarchs since the 2008 season. The Chargers have now tied their most home wins in program history with 12 this season, improving to 12-3 in the Horst Athletic Center this season and matching their home win total from the 2023 season. Lancaster Bible finishes the regular season at 16-10 overall, with head coach
Justin Brubaker now tied for the third-most wins by a LBC head coach in their first season.
Lea Sareyka became just the third player in program history with 3,000 career attacks as a hitter, passing the mark in the second match today and joining Lauren Heliger (2009-12) and Katie Coomber (2011-14) in the 3,000-attack club. Sareyka also moved into 6th-Place in program history in career service aces with 178, passing both Myranda (Kemrer) Bassey (2014-17) and Hannah Noble (2005-08) on the all-time list.
Madison Reap also moved up the all-time service aces list with 147 for her career, passing Sukey Reed (2001-04) for 11th-Place all-time, also moving into 11th all-time in career digs for the Chargers with 855 as she surpassed Joanna Butala (2012-14).
Madeline Reed passed two players to move into the top-15 all-time in career digs, totaling 723 for her career and moving past Rachel Olson (2011, '13) and Lauren (Donato) Daniels (2011-12).
Jessica Fletcher recorded her 100th career block assist today, becoming the ninth player in program history to reach that mark and passing Heather Flora (1996-98) for 8th-Place on the all-time list.
Eden Belford also moved into the top-15 in program history, this time for career blocks with 120 as she passed both Hannah Gipe (2015-18) and Hannah Greenleaf (1994-95) for 15th all-time.
Up Next:
The Chargers have earned the #4-seed in the upcoming United East Women's Volleyball Championship and a home match to begin the playoffs, hosting #5-seed Cairn on Saturday, November 7 for a Quarterfinal match in the Horst Athletic Center at a time to be determined.
