CALIFORNIA, Pa. – Four Crimson Hawks combined for 47 kills as IUP rebounded with four-set victory over California (Pa.) in conference women's volleyball action on Saturday afternoon.
The win was big for the Crimson Hawks as they recovered from a three-set loss at Seton Hill on Friday night with this win over the defending Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) champions.
IUP improves to 13-5 overall with the win and are now in fourth place in the Western Division with a 6-3 league mark. Cal is now 6-13 overall and 4-5 in the PSAC.
The Crimson Hawks came back from an opening set 25-15 loss to reel off wins of 25-14, 25-21 and 25-17 the rest of the way.
The offense was led by sophomores
Natalie Cignetti (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana),
Alexis Anderson (Cleveland, Ohio/Mayfield) and
Gabrielle Egler (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Obama Academy), who had 13, 12 and 12 kills, respectively. Junior
Lily McWilliams (Rockville, Md./Thomas Sprigg Wootton) checked in with 10 kills, her second double-figure kill match in the last three.
Cignetti's 13 kills came on 32 total attacks for a .313 hitting percentage. She also had a service ace and 11 digs. Anderson had three aces and eight digs in addition to her 12 kills while Egler added a pair of block assists to hers. McWilliams had an ace, three block assists and four digs for a season-high 12.5 points.
The 6-3 start to the conference season for the Crimson Hawks is the program's best since the PSAC began counting all league matches in its conference record in 2009.
IUP will look to continue their successful conference season at next weekend's PSAC East/West Crossover in Johnstown and Lock Haven. The Crimson Hawks will face off against UPJ, Millersville, Lock Haven and Shippensburg.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.
