Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – A hot-hitting Lycoming College volleyball team cruised to a pair of wins to open the 15^th Lycoming College Tip-Off Tournament at Lamade Gym on Friday night, Sept. 28. The Warriors downed Misericordia, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-19), and Penn College, 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-15), to earn a spot in the championship match of the tournament for the fifth straight year.
 
Along the way, senior Jackie Oliva (Barnesville, Pa./Mahanoy Area) became the 18^th player in school history to reach 500 career kills, as she notched 15 in the pair of wins to give her 503 in her career. Freshman Bethany Richardson (York, Pa./West York Area) posted 28 kills on the night and junior Shelby Gear (Rochester, N.Y./Gates-Chili) added 20.
 
In the other matches, Misericordia downed CCNY, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-18), and Penn College beat CCNY, 3-1 (25-11, 18-25, 25-18, 25-14).
 
In the first match, the Warriors (11-4 overall) hit solidly, recording 42 kills in a three-set sweep of Misericordia (25-21, 25-20, 25-19). Richardson led the way with 12 kills and a hot .524 hitting percentage while Gear posted 10 kills and also hit an impressive .444.
 
A service ace by Richardson and a block by Gear and sophomore Kylee Sutton (Wysox, Pa./Towanda Area) helped the Warriors open up a 12-7 lead in the first set and they never let the Cougars (8-7 overall) back within two points in the 25-21 win. In the second set, Misericordia took a 13-11 lead, but the Warriors used a three-point service from sophomore Kristin Whitehead (Avon, Ohio/Avon) to take control of the set before Richardson served for fourt straight points to give Lycoming a 20-14 lead. From there, they held on for a 25-20 win. In the third set, Lycoming opened up a 12-2 lead en route to the 25-19 win.
 
Sophomore Amber Seibel (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) added eight kills and 13 digs and Oliva posted seven kills and three blocks. Junior Katelyn McKillop (Mount Pocono, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) notched 40 assists, nine digs and two aces and Whitehead posted 16 digs and two aces on the backrow.
 
Kat LaBrie led the Cougars with eight kills and Cailin McCullion added seven kills and eight digs. Kellyn Swanson posted eight digs and three blocks and Nicole Korgeski posted 20 assists and five digs.
 
Against Penn College (7-4 overall), Richardson caught fire, posting 16 kills to lead the Warriors to a sweep, 25-19, 25-16, 25-15, as she helped the Warriors hit .294 in the match.
 
Gear also added 10 kills, hitting a healthy .588 on 17 attempts, while Richardson posted the 16 kills on 36 attempts, hitting .306, and she also added six digs. Oliva also posted eight kills, crossing the 500-kill mark in the second set.
 
The Warriors opened up an 11-4 lead in the first set after back-to-back kills from Gear followed by one from Sutton, as they never led the Wildcats within five points en route to the 25-19 win. In the second set, Lycoming jumped out to a 12-3 lead after a seven-point service from Richardson and they expanded the lead to as many as 13 en route to the 25-16 win. The Warriors clinched the win by jumping out to a 10-3 lead in the third set. The Wildcats fought within three points at 16-13, but the Warriors posted four straight points to regain momentum and take the 25-15 win.
 
McKillop finished with 30 assists, nine digs, four kills and a block and Whitehead posted 16 digs. Junior Cortney Tice (Canton, Pa./Canton), playing in front of several Canton High School players, had 11 digs and junior Chelsee Strine (South Boardman, Mich./Forest Area) added three kills and two digs.
 
Penn College was led by six kills from Kelly Hebert and five from Tara Powell. Courtney Gernert posted 19 digs and Gabrielle George posted 12. Caitlyn Curley posted 10 assists and Loralee Lindermuth and Melissa Lake each had three blocks.
 
The Warriors wrap up the Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 29, facing CCNY to wrap up the round robin portion of the tournament at 11 a.m. At 1 p.m., the Warriors will participate in the championship match against either Penn College or Misericordia, who play at 11 a.m. on court two.