Lions Impress Again Finishing 3-1 at the Purple and White Invitational

ALLIANCE, Ohio - This past weekend your Mount St. Joseph University women's volleyball team traveled to Mount Union to compete in the Purple and White Invitational. The Lions were one of seven teams participating in the scrimmage. The Lions had 4 total matches over the weekend facing off against Allegheny and Muskingum on day one and Marietta and Mount Union on day two. The Lions split on the first night falling to Muskingum but responded well with back-to-back 5 set wins to get the Lions back on track.

MATCH ONE: MSJ - 3     ALLEGHENY - 0
In the first match of the night the Lions got out to a slow start. In their first set the Lions trailed late 17-13 but a pair of kills from Emily Abshire and another from Morgan Whitaker got the Lions back into the game as they went on top 18-17. The Lions finished the set in style with another kill from Whitaker giving the Lions a 1-0 lead. In set two the Lions settled down but still trailed 18-20 late in the set. But, Abshire got the scoring resumed with a kill followed by 6 straight MSJ points to give them the set win moving them in front 2-0.

In the third set the Lions continued to build on their momentum. The Lions and Gators went back and forth but Abshire and Whitaker continued to punish. As the third set came to a close Whitaker took control scoring the Lions last 5 points to lead them to a straight set victory. Whitaker finished the match with 15 kills while hitting .345

MATCH TWO: MSJ - 1     MUSKINGUM - 3
In the Lions second match of the weekend they faced off against the Fighting Muskies of Muskingum. In the first set the Lions struggled offensively.. The Mount could not find their chemistry and dropped the first set quickly. In the second set the Lions again fell behind early and fought back a little too late dropping the second set. The Lions finally got rolling in the third set. Each team traded points throughout the set, leading up to a great finish. With each team tied at 24 the Fighting Muskies would surrender a service error followed by a punishing kill from Grace Young. Young's kill gave the Lions the set win allowing them to advance to a 4th set. But, Muskingum would again jump out to an early advantage and never look back. After 4 sets the Lions fell to the Gators 3-1. 

MATCH THREE: MSJ - 3     MARIETTA - 2
On day two the Lions first matched up against the Pioneers of Marietta. In set one the Lions were hungry following the defeat a night ago. Emily Abshire and Brooke Aselage got the fire started for the Lions with a trio of kills to begin the match. The Lions continued to build on the offensive firepower and take set one 25-18. In set two, the Pioneers would come rushing back. The Lions grabbed the lead early but, the Pioneers scored 5 straight points to end the set evening the score at 1-1. In the third set, Marietta used their momentum to carry them forward. They jumped out to an early 9-4 lead and never turned back taking down the Lions 25-16 in set three.

But, hope was not to be lost for the Lions. The Lions fell down early in set four trailing 13-7. But the Lions began to crawl back. After scoring 4 straight points the Pioneers reached game point ahead, 24-21. The Lions never dropped their chin scoring 5 straight points to earn the set win forcing a set five. In the final set of the match momentum played a crucial role. The Pioneers began the set with 3 straight points followed by 5 straight points from The Mount. Following their run the Lions found themselves ahead 9-6 and were looking to bury the Pioneers. The Lions did just that scoring 6 consecutive points to take the fifth and final set 15-6. Four Lions finished with double-digit kills in the contest led by Freshman Ruthie Bingham with 16.

MATCH FOUR: MSJ - 3     MOUNT UNION - 2 
In the Lions fourth and final match of the weekend they faced off against the hosting team, the Purple Raiders of Mount Union. In set one the Lions got off to a nice start leaping to a 11-7 lead. The Lions faced resistance from the Purple Raiders on the set point but narrowly escaped danger taking set one by a score of 25-23. To begin set two no team would pull away keeping the match tight. But, late into the set the Purple Raiders would find their rhythm finishing the set ahead 25-20. In set three each team would keep the score close again. Late in the set the Lions held a 2 point lead but The Purple Raiders would get going again taking down the Lions 25-19 in set three.

In the Lions' fourth set, urgency kicked in. The Lions trailed 5-1 to start the set but stormed back late. The Lions late in the set were tied 19-19 before The Mount would go on another dominant run. The Mount scored the last 6 points again keeping their hopes alive and forcing a set five with a 25-19 set win. In the fifth and last set of the weekend the Lions found themselves in a familiar spot, trailing. Mount Union took the first 5 points to open up the fifth set. But, the Lions roared back with another 6 points giving them the lead. Mount Union would score a point to tie but concede the next 5 points to the Lions giving them a 11-7 lead. Needing just 4 more points the Lions could smell their 3rd victory of the weekend. On game point, Freshman Ruthie Bingham would come in clutch for the Lions punishing a set from Chloe Burton giving the Lions a 3-2 victory over Mount Union. The Lions again saw 4 players see double-digit kills led by Junior Emily Abshire with 15. 

KEY PERFORMERS:
Emily Abshire led the way for the Lions this weekend finishing with 45 total kills while hitting .234. Abshire was also named to the All-Tournament Team following her dominant weekend. Senior Brooke Aselage was also dominant for the Lions finishing with 39 kills. Aselage also made MSJ history this weekend finishing the weekend with exactly 1,000 career digs. Freshman Ruthie Bingham shined as well finishing the weekend with 38 kills. 

The setting duo of Senior Sam Buschur and Freshman Chloe Burton finished with an impressive combined 152 assists. Also, Junior Erin Androne was key for the Lions defensive effort finishing with a team-high 63 digs. 

UP NEXT: Your Mount St. Joseph University women's volleyball team will be back in action on Friday, September 16th when they travel to Springfield, Ohio to compete at the Wittenberg Fall Classic. The Lions first matchup against the Tigers of Wittenberg at 7:30pm followed by two matches on Saturday, September 17th versus Geneva College and Asbury University. Those matches are scheduled to begin at 11am and 2pm respectively.