CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – If its first two matches are any indication, Penn State Lehigh Valley’s brand new women’s volleyball team could be looking at a strong showing during its inaugural season in the Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC). The team, under the leadership of head coach Brittni Kholi, defeated Penn State Schuylkill and Penn State Hazleton during games held Sept. 9 and 13, respectively. The team will face Penn State Wilkes-Barre in its first-ever home game at 7 p.m., Sept. 16 at Cedar Crest College.

In its match against Schuylkill, the two teams battled back and forth in set one until Lehigh Valley rallied at the end and took the set victory. In set two and three, the Lehigh Valley team dominated from the start and never looked back. The freshman trio of Allora Atiyeh, Anna Tale and Alicia Huber led the way for Lehigh Valley. Junior Shelley Rosario, and freshmen Sirena Saleet, Natasha Leon, Ashley Husser, Andrea Watkins, Emily Ortiz and Ava Reichard all contributed for Lehigh Valley.

On Sept. 13, they defeated host Penn State Hazleton 3-1 to improve to 2-0 on the season. Lehigh Valley started the first set on fire, defeating Hazleton 25-9. Hazleton rallied back to win the second set 25-17, but Lehigh Valley answered in set three, 25-17, and set four, 25-20, giving Lehigh Valley their second PSUAC win on the season. Freshman Allora Atiyeh led Lehigh Valley with a game-high nine kills and added 11 assists. Freshman Alicia Huber contributed with a game-high 16 assists. Freshman Natasha Leon had a monster serving day as she recorded eight service aces. Junior Shelley Rosario added a game-high seven digs.