PITTSBURGH, Pa. – La Roche women's volleyball opened the 2024 season in dominant fashion, defeating Penn State Shenango, 3-0.

Set one was back-and-forth early, with Shenango holding a slight 6-5 edge.

The Redhawks would respond with a 10-0 run behind fantastic service play by junior Megan Bologna to build a 15-6 lead.

A quick Shenango spurt pushed the deficit to 15-10, but La Roche took 10 of the final 14 points to win the opening set 25-14.

Set two was all Redhawks early, jumping ahead 7-0 and 9-1 through the first 10 points.

Shenango would crawl back in the match to push the deficit to just 15-11, but the red and black would pressure the opposition, scoring 10 of the final 11 points to seal a 25-12 second set victory.

The final set saw La Roche utilize a lot of its newcomers, battling extremely well.

Despite falling behind 9-5, the Redhawks would pull off nine of the next 11 points to take a 14-11 lead, however, Shenango would even the score back at 14-14.

It was all La Roche in the final stretch, taking 11 of the final 13 points to clinch the season opening victory in straight sets.

Freshman middle Kylie Fehlman led the Redhawks with seven kills and a .500 hitting percentage on the day. Fehlman was followed by junior Kalli Grine, who had five kills and a .625 hitting percentage.

Freshman setter, Brooke Bednarski, led the team with 14 assists, while fellow freshman setter, Abby Moody, chipped in six helpers.

Defensively, La Roche put together a strong showing on the block, with Grine having five and senior Quinn Hughes finishing with four.

Fifth year libero Mackenzie Kerkan was the lone Redhawk in double figures for digs, reeling in 16.

La Roche continues its early home stretch on Friday, Sept. 6, when Chatham comes to the Kerr Fitness Center for a 6 p.m. opening serve.