Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

INDIANA, PA – Lauren Hester (State College, Pa. /State College) totaled 13 kills and 10 aces to help the IUP women's volleyball start the season with two wins on the first day of the 2014 Crimson Hawk Invitational at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
The Crimson Hawks defeated both West Virginia Wesleyan and Charleston (WV) in straight sets, as Hester returned to the court for the first time since 2012 after losing all of last season due to injury.
 
In the opening match, Lisa Kissell (Greensburg, Pa. /Greensburg Salem) had eight kills while both Alexis Anderson (Cleveland, Ohio/Mayfield) and Elizabeth Sova (Myerstown, Pa. /ELCO) added six in IUP's 25-14, 25-17, 25-20 win over the Bobcats. Kissell scored her eight kills on 18 attacks with just four hitting errors.
 
Hester added six digs and seven service aces in the win.
 
The Crimson Hawks kept a lead all through the opening set. Wesleyan kept up with IUP trailing two points behind until the Bobcats had two attack errors and Meghan Schneider (Lake Geneva, Wis. /Big Foot) scored an ace. Runs of four and six points by the Crimson Hawks gave IUP a 10-point lead, winning the first set 25-14.
 
IUP scored eight of the first 10 points in the second set. Both teams went back and forth for the next eight points until IUP had another run, scoring 12 of the 18 points before eventually taking a 24-14 lead. A kill by Katie Miller (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) ended the game at 25-17.
 
It was neck and neck throughout the majority the third set until two kills by Sova and Anderson put the Crimson Hawks ahead 23-19. Hester would do the honors by finishing off the Bobcats with an ace.
 
IUP came out strong in the night time match with Charleston, with a 7-0 run in the opening set giving the Crimson Hawks a 17-5 lead. They would reel off a pair of 4-0 runs to take the opening set 25-16.
 
The second set was even easier for IUP, with Hester's serves helping IUP to an early 10-1 lead. Charleston came back with three straight points, but that was the closest they would get as IUP scored in bunches to pick up a 25-10 second set victory.
 
The final set of the night was a little tighter, with Charleston holding on to one, two and three-point leads most of the way. The Crimson Hawks tied the score up at 19-19 on a kill by Hester, and took a one-point lead when Anderson followed with her own scoring attack.
 
The set would then be tied at 20, 21, 23, and 24 points, with each team rallying multiple times from deficits. Kissell then ended the back-and-forth with two straight kills for the 26-24 victory.
 
Hester ended the set with a team-high nine kills with three aces. Sova added six kills while Kissell and Anderson each had five. Lindsay Moeller (Troy, Mich./Troy) had 35 combined assists while Katie Miller (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) dished out 19. Defensively, Joie Hrapla (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Bishop Canevin) totaled 26 digs while Sova had six blocks and Schneider and Kissell had five each.
 
The Crimson Hawks are back in action tomorrow, finishing up the Invitational against Malone in the KCAC at 4 p.m.