LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Lock Haven (20-6, 12-5 PSAC) swept Kutztown on Saturday afternoon at Thomas Fieldhouse by a 3-0 score (25-20, 25-19, 25-18) in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) women's volleyball match.

Avery Smith was the most efficient hitter on the floor. The sophomore middle blocker put down 11 kills and made one error on 18 swings for a .556 hitting percentage. Senior Reagan Irons also had 11 kills, and Gracelynn Wolzen added eight.

The first set was the tightest. Kutztown led 10-7 after a stretch in which Lock Haven committed three errors, then pushed the lead to 11-8. Samantha Rouser then served six straight points, including an ace, and Lock Haven turned an 11-8 deficit into a 14-11 lead with Payton Stanton adding two kills along the way. The Golden Bears got within 18-15 and later 20-17, but Lock Haven closed it out with Irons' kill and a Kutztown error to take the first set by a 25-20 tally.

Kutztown (21-10, 8-6 PSAC) opened the second set by taking an 8-4 lead, in large part due to Saige Thibodeaux's serve before Bald Eagles rallied once again. Lock Haven chipped away, tied it at 11 and again at 15, then took control with a 6-0 run on Maddie Mitchell's serve for a 21-16 lead. Wolzen, Irons and Natalie Gibson finished it from there to put the Bald Eagles up 2-0.

The third set was Lock Haven's cleanest. The Bald Eagles committed no attack errors and hit .410 with 19 kills. They tied it at 13 on a Kutztown service error, then Rouser served again, and Irons put down four kills in a 7-0 run that made it 20-13. The Golden Bears never got closer than five the rest of the way as the Bald Eagles secured the sweep with a 25-18 win in the third set.

Gibson, a freshman setter, ran the offense with 36 assists and added 11 digs. Sophomore libero Olivia Taylor led all players with 20 digs, her 25th straight game with double-digit digs.

The victory avenged a pair of defeats at the hands of Kutztown earlier in the year. Prior to the contest, the Bald Eagles honored their three seniors: Irons, Natalie Acevedo and Salma Villa Morales.

Up Next:
Lock Haven is back in action on Wednesday when it hosts a PSAC Quarterfinal game against Clarion which earned the No. 3 seed in the PSAC West. The Bald Eagles secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Division by virtue of a tiebreaker with Shepherd. Opening serve with the Golden Eagles is set for 6 p.m.