Box Score

INDIANA, PA – IUP's Elizabeth Sova (Myerstown, Pa. /ELCO) had 14 kills and five total blocks as the Crimson Hawks defeated visiting Mercyhurst in four-sets in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West women's volleyball action on Friday night at the KCAC.

The Crimson Hawks won the first two sets 29-27 and 25-22 before Mercyhurst took the third set 25-19. IUP then won the deciding fourth set 25-14.

The win was IUP's sixth in its last eight matches as the Crimson Hawks continue to make a push for a PSAC postseason berth. IUP is currently 8-11 in the conference, three games back of Gannon (11-8) for the final spot with three contests left for both teams.

The Crimson Hawks will host Gannon tomorrow night.

IUP got in front early in the opening set, holding 4-1 lead. The Crimson Hawks built a six-point lead at 14-8 before the Lakers chipped away, tying the score at 20-20. Mercyhurst then pushed it to set-point at 24-22 but the Crimson Hawks rattled off three straight points to take a 25-24 lead. Two more points by the Lakers gave them a 26-25 advantage but IUP scored four of the last five, including kills from Sova and Ericka Lentz (Reading/Holy Name) , for the set win.

The second set included 11 ties and four lead changes, with neither team able to separate by more than three points. The Lakers broke a late 20-20 tie with two straight points, but the Crimson Hawks scored the next five to get the win, capitalizing on three Mercyhurst errors.

The Lakers owned the third set from the beginning, scoring the game's first four points and eventually taking a 9-2 lead. Down 17-8, IUP tried to rally with a 6-0 run to make it a 17-14 game but the Lakers scored five of the next six points and eventually got a six-point set three win.

It was a back-and-forth beginning to the fourth set until IUP went on an 8-1 run to take an 11-4 lead. The Crimson Hawks separated themselves even further with a 10-3 run to go on top 21-8, eventually salting away the Lakers for a 25-14 win.

Lentz and Meghan Schneider (Lake Geneva, Wis. /Big Foot) each added eight kills for the Crimson Hawks, while Lindsay Moeller (Troy, Mich./Troy) had 35 assists. Defensively, Kelly Barnes (Inver Grove Heights, MN/Simley) had a team-high 21 digs with Moeller adding 18. Schneider had seven block assists while Stephanie Kruzynski (Oxford/Oxford) had five and Lenzt had three.

The Crimson Hawks will battle Gannon at the KCAC on Saturday, with the first serve scheduled for 5 p.m.