LINDSBORG, Kan. – The York University volleyball team registered a hard-fought 3-2 win in dramatic fashion at Bethany Wednesday evening.

The Panthers are now 12-16 overall, including 2-5 in KCAC action. 

Head coach Irick Gardner's team was led by Brianna Lemke's 21-kill, nine-dig effort. Emma Kerley notched 17 kills while Jassania Joseph added 10. Kaylee Weigel produced five kills. 

Kensey Clifton posted 26 assists and 21 digs for a double-double while Meadow Nusbaum narrowly missed a double-double with 25 assists and nine digs.

Defensively, Joseph led the way with five total blocks. Valentia Jimenez recorded 36 digs while Ambar Ortiz posted 22. Olivia Romero chipped in 17.

York trailed 15-7 in the opening frame before outscoring the home team 18-7 the rest of the way. Kerley got things going with a kill. Down 18-9, an error by Bethany and a block from Lemke made it 18-11. Facing a 20-12 deficit, an error sparked another run. Kerley and Joseph notched kills. With the score at 21-16, an ace by Kory Anschutz forced a time-out. Kerley had a kill and two errors made it 21-20. Tied at 21-21, Anschutz served up another ace before Jai Dotson and Isidora Diaz Aguirre blocked an attempt. Moments later, an attack error gave York the 25-22 victory.

Tied at 1-1 entering the third set, the Panthers raced to a 12-7 lead after a kill by Kaylee Weigel. Leading 14-11, Kerley and Lemke posted back-to-back points. A miscue pushed the advantage to six, 17-11. Holding a 20-13 edge, Lemke and Dotson scored back-to-back points. Aan ace by Nusbaum made it 24-13. Two plays later, Weigel hammered home a pass from Nusbaum for the 11-point victory.

Down 20-13 in the fourth set, an error, two kills by Lemke and an ace from Elena Brown pulled York within three at 20-17. Joseph had a pair of kills and Dotson added one, making it 22-20. Trailing 24-22, Kerley tied the match with two straight points. The Panthers tied it again at 25-25 on a kill by Kerley, but Bethany netted the next two points for the 27-25 win.

Trailing 3-1 in the fifth set, Lemke found the court. Two straight miscues by the Swedes gave the Panthers a 4-3 advantage. Tied at 7-7, Weigel slammed home a kill. A bad set and a block from Kerley and Joseph pushed the margin to 10-7. Another point from Kerley forced a time-out by the Swedes. The hard-fought set saw York make it 14-11 on a kill from Lemke, but Bethany recorded back-to-back points. However, Lemke ended the match with a kill off a pass from Clifton.    

For the match, York produced 62 kills and hit .130. The team dished out 57 assists, served up six aces and had 137 digs. 

The Panthers return to action Saturday when they play at the University of Saint Mary at 7 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at Yorkpanthers.com.