Box Score

St. Mary's (MD) SMCMU 12-15,3-4 United East

Penn St.-Abington PSA 11-13,4-4 United East

St. Mary's (MD) SMCMU

12-15,3-4 United East

Final

Nov. 04, 2023

Penn St.-Abington PSA

11-13,4-4 United East

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	F
St. Mary's (MD) SMCMU	26	19	25	25	(3)
Penn St.-Abington PSA	24	25	17	17	(1)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | 11/4/2023 12:00:00 AM

Kulpinski Records 1,000th Assist in United East Divisional Quarterfinals

Abington, Pa. – The Penn State Abington women's volleyball team concluded its season after falling short to sixth-seeded St. Mary's College (Md.) by the score of 3-1 in the United East Conference (UEC) Volt Division quarterfinals on Saturday at the Abington Athletic Building. The third-seeded Nittany Lions were hosting their first postseason match since the 2019 in the then NEAC quarterfinals.

Early in the first set, sophomore setter Laine Kulpinski registered her 1,000^th career assist becoming the third player in program history to reach the milestone.

Score: St. Mary's 3, Penn State Abington 1 (24-26, 25-19, 17-25, 17-25)
Records: Penn State Abington (12-15, 3-3 UEC) | St. Mary's (12-15, 2-4 UEC)
Location: Abington, Pa. (Athletic Building)

How It Happened

* Abington had set-point in the opening set after a kill by sophomore Alyssa Flickinger gave the Nittany Lions a 24-22 lead. However, St. Mary's recorded back-to-back kills to tie the set before grabbing its first lead of the set off an ace from Camilla Galeano. A kill Arielle Lubeck gave the Seahawks the 26-24 first set victory.

* The Nittany Lions bounced back in the second set to tie the match at 1-1. Trailing 9-8, the Nittany Lions went on a 7-1 run, including a stretch of five straight points, to lead 15-10. Sophomore Brianna Brozo had two kills in the run. Abington held on to the lead and pushed ahead later in the set with a mini 4-1 run to increase its lead to 23-17. The Nittany Lions finished the set with a 25-19 victory.

* St. Mary's regained the match lead after closing out the third set on an 11-2 run. The Seahawks trailed 15-14 and scored three straight points to regain the lead for the first time since leading 5-4 earlier in the set. After a St. Mary's attack error gave Abington a point, the Seahawks scored seven unanswered points, including eight of the final nine to take the set, 25-17.

* In the fourth set the Seahawks used a 6-0 run midway through to break a 6-6 tie. After two points by the Nittany Lions, St. Mary's followed with four unanswered to increase its lead to 16-8. Abington came as close as five points of the lead at 20-15 but was unable to cut the deficit any further as St. Mary's took the set, 25-17.

Inside the Box Score

* Kulpinski became the program's third player to reach the 1,000-assist milestone. She entered today's contest with 998 career assists and left it with 1,028 after totaling 30 in the match. Kulpinski will enter the 2024 season 20 assists shy of tying Sam Nelson (2013-14), who totaled 1,048 assists in her two-year career, for second most in program history. Kulpinski also had 14 digs in the match.

* Freshman Jayla Hickey led the Nittany Lions with a match-high 11 kills, while Brozo also totaled double-digits with 10 kills.

* Sophomore Sara Schrader led the team with 18 digs and tied her career-high with six aces.

* Freshman Kayla Mason totaled 11 digs; one shy of her season-high.

* For St. Mary's, Julia Bobrowski finished with 11 kills and 17 digs, while Meghan Stevens totaled nine kills and 19 digs.

All-Time Series
Today marked the fourth meeting between Abington and St. Mary's since the 2022 season. The Seahawks have won all four matches in the young history between the two schools. The second set victory marked the Nittany Lions' first-ever set victory against the Seahawks.

Abington in the Postseason
Today marked Abington's fourth-ever appearance in the postseason and the team's first since 2019. Abington is now 2-4 all-time in the NEAC/United East Tournament.

Championship Gear
The United East Championship store is open! Fans can visit the online store and purchase their Women's Volleyball Championship gear now until November 18. The shops will include two options, including a white tee-shirt with the Championship logo as well as a white crew neck sweatshirt with a United East Champions logo. Each style will showcase either the "championship" logo as well as a "champions" logo. Please note, the Championship items are only available online and will not be available at the site of the Championship. To access the online store, click here.

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