MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny volleyball team concluded play at their 2025 Gator Invitational Saturday (Sept. 13), collecting a pair of victories to finish the weekend 4-0.
 
The Gators defeated Penn State Behrend in four sets to start the day before sweeping Fredonia in their final contest.
 
Match One - Allegheny 3, Penn State Behrend 1 (25-13, 25-16, 21-25, 25-13)
 
The Gators jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the opening set. A Lions timeout failed to stop the run as Allegheny grew their lead to 14-4 before a second timeout. The Gators limited Behrend the rest of the set as they captured it 25-13.
 
The teams were evenly matched in the early portion of the second set. The Gators started to pull away midway through, taking a 21-15 lead. The set ended on a 3-0 run, capped off by a Carly Beers (Warren, Pa./Warren) kill.
 
The Lions had the early advantage in set three, taking a 10-7 lead. The Gators battled back after a timeout, gaining a 13-11 lead. The back-and-forth play continued as the Lions regained the advantage, 18-15. After the lead reached 22-15, Allegheny fought back with a 4-0 run. However, the Gators were unable to complete the comeback as the Lions won the set 25-21.
 
Allegheny bounced back in the fourth set, starting on a 9-4 run. The run continued as it reached 11-0 en route to a 25-13 set win.
 
Inside the Box

• Amaya Brooks (North Olmsted, Ohio/Lutheran West) had a season-high 24 kills to lead the team.
• Carlee Pepperman (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte Area) had seven kills and seven digs.
• Sydney Kirk (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton LaSalle Catholic) and Skyler Fatola (Queen Creek, Ariz./Eastmark) had seven kills each while combining for five blocks.
• Izzy Gray (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) finished with 42 assists and eight digs.
• Jacy Diaz (Barranquitas, Puerto Rico/Gallatin (Tenn.)) had 21 digs and three aces.
• Produced 18 digs while Duru Akbas (Ankara, Turkey/Layton Christian Academy (Utah)) had 10.

Match Two - Allegheny 3, Fredonia 0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-22)
 
The Gators won the first five points of the match. They kept the lead from there on out in the set, capturing it 25-19.
 
The teams matched each other in the early portion of the set, finding themselves tied at 11. The Gators would then take over, going on a 7-1 run to gain control. Allegheny closed out the set 25-18 to move ahead by two in the match.
 
The teams traded runs back and forth for most of the third set. The Gators started to gain control with a 4-1 run, moving ahead 19-16. The game remained close, but the Gators stayed ahead as they completed the sweep with a 25-22 set win.
 
Inside the Box

• Brooks led the Gators with nine more kills.
• Fatola had seven kills and four blocks.
• Pepperman had seven kills, 11 digs, four aces and three blocks.
• Kendall Brunn (Campbell, Ohio/Northeast Ohio Impact Academy) also finished with seven kills.
• Gray tallied 26 assists and six digs.
• Akbas led the team with 14 digs to go alongside three aces.
• Diaz had 11 digs. 

News and Notes

• Allegheny is now 28-9 all-time against Penn State Behrend and 19-2 against Fredonia.
• Diaz moved into second all-time on the Gators career digs list, surpassing Terra Schall's total of 2,172.  
• Isabella Quirarte (Euclid, Ohio/Andrews Osborne Academy) and Yazmín Negrón (San Juan, Puerto Rico/CIEM Private School) made their collegiate debuts.
• Fatola and Fernandez were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Up Next
The Gators are back at home Friday (Sept. 19) as they host Hiram in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play.