LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Maddie Mitchell had 18 kills, and Lock Haven (15-5, 7-1 PSAC) topped Shepherd (17-3, 6-2 PSAC) 3-1 on Saturday at Thomas Fieldhouse to move into first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division on Youth and Community Night for the women's volleyball squad. 

With the win, the Bald Eagles earned the season split with Shepherd, extended the team's winning streak to seven games and most importantly move into sole possession of first place in the PSAC East

The Bald Eagles took the first set 25-21 after building an 18-11 lead. Shepherd cut into it, but Lock Haven closed with Mitchell kills on the last two points to take a 1-0 advantage.

The second set was the closest of the night. Shepherd led 13-8 and 18-13, and Lock Haven kept coming. The set was tied 24, 25 and 27 points before sophomore libero Olivia Taylor served an ace to make it 28-27, and a Shepherd error ended it at 29-27 to hand the Bald Eagles a commanding 2-0 lead. 

Shepherd took the third set 25-10, before the Bald Eagles put things away in the fourth set. 

Trailing 7-5, the Bald Eagles scored nine straight points to pull away to the set and match victory. Reagan Irons served through the whole run with an ace in it. Lock Haven hit .400 in the set with one attack error and finished it with a 25-13 win.

Mitchell hit .255 on 47 swings and led both teams in kills. Sophomore middle hitter Payton Stanton added 11 kills on a .417 clip and had two blocks. Freshman setter Natalie Gibson had 37 assists and 12 digs. Taylor had 20 digs and three aces, and senior libero Natalie Acevedo had a season-high 13 digs.

Up Next for Lock Haven: 
The Bald Eagles are back in action on Friday, October 23 when they travel to Kutztown. Opening serve with the Golden Bears is set for 6:30 p.m. at Brandywine Heights High School in Mertztown, Pa.