MEDIA, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine won a trio of Penn State University Athletic Conference volleyball matches on Dig Pink Day as the Lions bested Penn State Lehigh Valley, Penn State Schuylkill and Penn State Wilkes-Barre to move into first place in the PSUAC East Division.
Penn State Brandywine 3, Penn State Lehigh Valley 0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-20)
The first match of the day featured a matchup of Brandywine and Lehigh Valley with Brandywine claiming a straight-set victory to sweep the season series.
The Lions collected five-straight points, the final two of which came on kills by Brandi James (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) and Hope Coacher (Ardmore, Pa./Haverford) to build a 20-13 lead and finished off the first set with back-to-back kills by Kira Thorne (Alconbury, England/Alconbury) and Amanda Floyd (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro).
Brandywine used a 7-0 surge to close out the second set 25-16 and build a 2-0 lead. Rikelle Taylor (Nottingham, Pa./Solanco) recorded four blocks during a 10-2 spurt to open the third set and added a fifth block later in the frame as Brandywine held off a late Lehigh Valley rally to close out the match in three sets.
Taylor added five kills to her five solo blocks, while James recorded eight kills and 12 digs. Gianna Anthony (Newtown Square, Pa./Sacred Heart Academy) paced all players with 16 digs and Thorne added 12 digs and five kills.
Penn State Brandywine 3, Penn State Schuylkill 2 (21-25, 25-16, 20-25, 25-21, 15-11)
Brandywine had to rally from 2-1 down to defeat Schuylkill, sending the visitors to their first PSUAC loss of the season.
The teams were knotted 10-10 during the final set, but two Schuylkill errors and a kill by Floyd made the margin 13-10. Schuylkill got within two; however, a pair of errors gave the match to Brandywine.
After splitting the first two sets, Brandywine led the third 20-16 before Schuylkill rallied with nine-straight points to claim the frame.
Brandywine led for nearly the entire fourth set, moving in front by as many as six points at 20-14 following a kill by Hannah Sarafinas (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West). Schuylkill pulled as close as 22-20, but James tallied a pair of kills and Coacher added a kill to secure the stanza and send the match to a deciding fifth set.
Coacher and Sarafinas both recorded 13 kills, leading five players in double figures for Brandywine. Taylor added 12 kills, while James totaled 11 and Floyd registered 10.
Rebecca Gonzalez (Clearwater, Fla./Washburn Academy) dealt out 36 assists, while Madison Swenson (Chadds Ford, Pa./Kennett) dished out 18. James tallied three of Brandywine's nine aces.
Defensively, Anthony produced 22 digs, while James collected 20 and Thorne recorded 10. Sarafinas collected four blocks and Taylor and Thorne both added three.
Penn State Brandywine 3, Penn State Wilkes-Barre 0 (25-8, 25-5, 25-9)
Brandywine eased to a three-set victory over Wilkes-Barre during the final match of the afternoon.
Twenty-seven of the Lions' points came from services aces. Melina Asslanian (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown) set down 10, while Gonzalez tallied eight, along with 11 assists, and Alsatia Haas-Tome (Norwood, Pa./Interboro) produced five.
Sarafinas led all players with six kills and Coacher and Asslanian both tallied five. Asslanian paced the Lions with three digs.
Brandywine (9-12, 8-1) closes out its six-game homestand Wednesday night against Penn State Scranton at 7:00 pm.

November 11, 2019
Anthony, James Receive All-American Honorable Mention Recognition

October 28, 2019
Anthony, Sarafinas Headline Four Named To All-PSUAC Volleyball Teams

October 28, 2019
Brandywine Bows Out Of PSUAC Tournament In Semifinals

October 23, 2019
Fall Teams Ready To Begin Postseason

October 22, 2019
Brandywine Tops York 3-1 On Senior Night

October 20, 2019
Brandywine Knocks Off Wilkes-Barre 3-0

October 16, 2019
Lions' Rally Falls Short In Final Non-Conference Match

October 10, 2019
Brandywine Falls At Rutgers-Camden

October 9, 2019
Brandywine Sweeps Scranton For Fifth-Straight Win

October 5, 2019
Brandywine Wins Three On Dig Pink Day

October 3, 2019
Lions Complete Season Sweep Of Hazleton

October 2, 2019
Brandywine Hosts Dig Pink Saturday

October 1, 2019
Brandywine Drops Home Opener To DelVal

September 29, 2019
Brandywine Competes In PSUAC Crossover Weekend

September 24, 2019
Brandywine Handles York In Three Sets

September 22, 2019
Brandywine Bounces Back To Beat Lehigh Valley

September 20, 2019
Brandywine Falls At Ursinus

September 19, 2019
Brandywine Dealt First PSUAC Defeat

September 16, 2019
Brandywine Tops Valley Forge; Wins Third-Straight Match

September 15, 2019
Brandywine Earns Road Sweep Over Scranton

September 11, 2019
Brandywine Opens Conference Play With First Victory

September 9, 2019
Lions Ousted In Five Sets

September 7, 2019
Brandywine Drops A Pair At Gwynedd Tri-Match

September 4, 2019
Lions Drop 3-0 Decision At Albright

August 31, 2019
Brandywine Falls At Goucher 3-0

June 19, 2019
2019 Volleyball Schedule Unveiled