Cheyney Box / Kutztown Box

INDIANA, PA – Danielle Ostendorf (Rockford, IL/Boylan Catholic) had 16 kills and Carissa Miara (Pittsburgh/West Allegheny) finished with 53 assists in a five-set loss to Kutztown in the nightcap after the Crimson Hawks swept Cheyney earlier in the day as IUP opened the brand new Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex with a split of its PSAC crossover volleyball games on Friday.

The night game against the Golden Bears was promoted as a “Black Out” for fans, as 500 black t-shirts were given out at the door.

The match was a back-and-forth slugfest, with the Crimson Hawks striking first with a 25-14 win in the opening set. Kutztown then rallied, taking control of the match with two straight wins and looked poised for the win, going up 8-1 in the fourth set.

The Crimson Hawks then came back, scoring 12 of the next 13 points, including eight while Stacey Root (York/Spring Grove) was serving. IUP then went on 6-0 run and finished off Kutztown to force a fifth set.

After several ties and back-and-forth play, the Golden Bears took nine of the last 11 points for the match win.

Lauren Hester (State College, Pa. /State College) finished with 15 kills for IUP with Morgan Cerveny (Richfield, OH/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) adding 11. Defensively, Emily Vaughn (Shippensburg/Shippensburg) had 28 digs, while Brooke Bailey (Clarion, Pa. /Clarion) added 16.

It was an easy win for IUP in the early match, with Diane Killinger (Bethel Park/Bethel Park) leading the offense with six kills. Sarah Alman (Indiana/Indiana) had 17 assists and Bailey had seven aces.

The Crimson Hawks (7-4, 1-1) will host West Chester tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. to finish off the crossover and will take on rival Cal at home next Tuesday, with the opening serve scheduled for 7:00 p.m.