HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team wrapped up its regular season schedule at Juniata College on Saturday afternoon, competing in a non-conference tri-match in the Eagles' Memorial Gymnasium.

The Lions (14-13) faced off against a pair of challenging opponents in No. 9-ranked Juniata and Carnegie Mellon University, which received 72 votes in the latest AVCA Division III women's volleyball top 25 poll. Penn State Altoona suffered a pair of 3-0 losses on the day.

Match One: No. 9 Juniata 3, Penn State Altoona 0

Juniata (25-5) handed the Lions a loss in straight sets, coming out on top by scores of 25-13, 25-11, and 25-17.

Lia Simanski (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) led the Lions in points, totaling 10 on 10 kills, while tying for the team lead in digs with six. Maggie Brewer (NuMine, PA/West Shamokin) added five points on five kills, and Makiya Mack (Philipsburg, PA/West Branch) had three points on two kills and two block assists.

Julia Emel (Woodward, PA/Penns Valley) tallied 12 assists while adding five digs, and Marlo Mellish (Kittanning, PA/Armstrong) chipped in three assists and a service ace.

Ella Hadley (Spring Mills, PA/Penns Valley) tied for the team-high digs total with six, and Brianna Woodring (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) had four digs.

Penn State Altoona kept things close to start the first set, as a pair of kills by Brewer trimmed an early Juniata lead to 5-4. But the Eagles proceeded to reel off a 12-1 run to break the game open, expanding their advantage to 17-5. The Lions countered with four points in a row after that, including kills from Simanski and Mack and a duo block by Morgan Fussell (Blairsville, GA/Union County) and Mack. Later in the set, Penn State Altoona picked up points on kills from Mack and Simanski, as well as a block from Hannah Swank (Boswell, PA/Conemaugh Township) and Mack, but Juniata still won the first set by a comfortable 25-13 margin.

The home squad staked out a 7-1 lead to open the second set, then steadily grew it over the course of the game. Penn State Altoona got kills from Jayden Ulmer (Williamsport, PA/Williamsport), Brewer, and Simanski midway through the set, but Juniata went up by as many as 15 points, 23-8. The Lions recorded a trio of points late in the set on a Juniata service error, a Mellish ace, and a Simanski kill, but the Eagles claimed a 25-11 victory to grab a 2-0 lead in the match.

Penn State Altoona led 4-2 to begin the third set, using two Simanski kills, one Brewer kill, and a Juniata attack error to seize the two-point advantage. Fussell and Swank added kills over the next several points to keep the Lions in front, 6-5. But the Eagles used another big run to grab sizeable lead, scoring nine in a row to go up 14-6. Penn State Altoona came back with a 5-1 run that included one kill apiece from Simanski and Brewer, cutting the Juniata lead to 15-11. The Eagles struck back with an 8-1 run after that, making it 22-12. Four Juniata attack errors and a Simanski kill led to a 5-0 run for Penn State Altoona late in the set, but the Eagles scored three straight points after that to close the set at 25-17 and seal the sweep.

Match Two: Carnegie Mellon 3, Penn State Altoona 0

In its last match of the regular season, the Lions went down in three sets to CMU (22-7) by scores of 25-10, 25-11, and 25-10.

Brewer recorded six points on six kills, while Hadley had five points on five kills and also notched seven digs. Swank had a pair of kills and also totaled 12 digs.

Emel finished with eight assists, five digs, and two service aces, while Mellish and Brooklyn Myers (Grassflat, PA/West Branch) had three assists each.

Woodring led all players in the match in digs with 13.

CMU jumped out to a commanding lead right away in the first set, establishing a 12-3 advantage despite early Lion kills from Hadley and Brewer. Another Hadley kill and an attack error by the Tartans made it 12-5, but CMU embarked on a 9-0 run after that to widen its lead to 16 points, 21-5. Penn State Altoona scored four of the next five points, including kills by Swank and Brewer and a service ace from Emel. But the Tartans ultimately won the first set by a 15-point margin, 25-10.

Brewer started the second set with a kill, but Penn State Altoona's lead was short-lived, as CMU worked its way out to an 18-8 advantage. Hadley and Brewer each contributed a kill in the middle stages of the set, but the Tartans closed out the second set 25-11 to secure a 2-0 lead in the match.

Kills by Emma Ray (Ruckersville, VA/William Monroe) and Hadley helped Penn State Altoona to a 3-1 lead in the third set before it was erased by a 6-0 run from the Tartans. Brewer notched a pair of kills to keep the Lions within four, 9-5, but CMU ran off nine straight points to increase its lead to 18-5. Hadley, Swank, and Johanna Heckman (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) scored kills over the next several points, but CMU took the third set 25-10 to hand the Lions another sweep.

Now, the Penn State Altoona women's volleyball team will prepare for postseason play, as the Lions are set to compete in next week's Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament. Penn State Altoona, which clinched the No. 2 seed in the playoffs and a first-round bye, will play its first match of the tournament next Saturday, November 15 at 4:30 p.m. in the semifinal round.

The semifinal and championship matches are all hosted at top seed Mount Aloysius College. Penn State Altoona will play the winner of the first-round match between No. 3 seed Penn State Behrend and the to-be-determined No. 6 seed.