Box Score

INDIANA, PA – Morgan Cerveny (Richfield, OH/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) and Sarah Smiley (Worthington, OH/Thomas Worthington) combined for 23 kills on the night as IUP swept rival Slippery Rock 3-0 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West women's volleyball action on Friday night at the KCAC.

Seeing her first action in nearly a month, Smiley had 10 kills on 33 attacks, accumulating 10.5 points on the night.

Cerveny continued her strong play, totaling 13 kills on 30 attacks with three blocks assists to score 14.5 points.

The win moves IUP to 18-8 overall, but more importantly gives the Crimson Hawks a 6-4 record in PSAC play as they move into a tie with the Rock for fourth place in the West.

The Crimson Hawks made several runs in the opening set, helping them get out to a 15-7 lead, as Cerveny racked up three quick kills. They would extend their lead to 19-8 a few points later, getting kills by Smiley and Ellen Fordon (Chicago, IL/Lincoln-Way East) and an ace by Meghan Schneider (Lake Geneva, Wis. /Big Foot).

Slippery Rock came back with three straight points to cut its deficit to eight, but IUP stopped that run, scoring four straight and six of the last eight to post a 25-13 set one win.

The Rock grabbed early momentum in the second set, taking a 7-4 lead after three straight attacking errors by the Crimson Hawks. IUP quickly rebounded, capitalizing on a service error before getting two straight kills by Smiley to tie the score at 7-7.

IUP was still down several points later at 13-10 before going on a monster 9-0 to take control of the set. Cerveny and Ericka Lentz (Reading/Holy Name) led the way during the run, combining for six kills.

A single point by Slippery Rock stopped the bleeding, but the Crimson Hawks scored four straight to nearly finish off the set at 23-14.

Slippery Rock refused to drop the set, going on a pair of 3-0 runs to cut the IUP lead to 24-20. A timeout by the Crimson Hawks would stop the streak and disrupt the Rock's momentum, as a ball handling error would wrap up the match and give IUP a 25-20 win.

The Crimson Hawks started off the third set strong, as a six-point run helped them take a 7-1 lead early. The Rock cut their deficit to five at 11-6 before Schneider and Smiley helped IUP go on a 6-2 run to go on top 17-8.

IUP was still up by nine at 20-11 before Slippery Rock began to inch back into the set, again with a pair of three-point runs to cut its deficit to 22-17. The Crimson Hawks scored two of the next three to get to match point, but Slippery Rock rattled off another three to make it a 24-21 game. But IUP would again put a stop to a late rally, as Lentz finished off Slippery Rock with a kill, clinching the sweep.

Sarah Alman (Indiana/Indiana) finished with 28 assists on the night along with three aces and 13 digs. Lentz led the way defensively with 17 digs while adding five kills and an ace. Schneider finished with five total blocks, three kills and a pair of aces.

The Crimson Hawks return to the court on Saturday when they host Clarion in the KCAC at 2:00 p.m.