CALIFORNIA, Pa. – The sophomore trio of
Natalie Cignetti (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana),
Gabrielle Egler (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Obama Academy), and
Alexis Anderson (Cleveland, Ohio/Mayfield) combined for 62 of the Crimson Hawks' 80 total kills as IUP won matches of Kutztown and East Stroudsburg on Friday night at Hamer Hall at California.
It's the opening weekend for conference play, with IUP starting 2-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference for the first time since 2012. The Crimson Hawks improved their overall record to 9-2 with the pair of wins.
IUP won both matches in three sets, defeating Kutztown 25-23, 25-15, 25-20. The Crimson Hawks then beat East Stroudsburg 25-22, 25-15, 25-14.
Cignetti finished Friday night with a team-high 24 kills, adding three service aces and two total blocks. Egler had 18 kills and a .429 hitting percentage with a team-high five total blocks while Anderson had 20 kills. Those three also combined for 68.5 points.
Junior
Lindsay Moeller (Troy, Mich./Troy) served as the main distributor, dishing out a combined 67 assists on the day.
IUP had 15 service aces in the two matches, including nine against Kutztown. Senior
Meghan Schneider (Lake Geneva, Wis. /Big Foot) had a team-high six of those aces, while junior
Lily McWilliams (Rockville, Md./Thomas Sprigg Wootton) had five.
The closest sets for the Crimson Hawks were the first in both matches. IUP was forced to rally in each, using a 10-3 run against the Golden Bears and an 11-3 run against ESU to get the opening set victories. The Crimson Hawks used that momentum to defeat Kutztown 50-35 over the final two sets and ESU 50-29 the rest of the way.
Defensively for IUP, five different players recorded double-digit digs, with freshman
Jess Marut (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) posting a team-high 23. Cignetti had 22 and freshman
Breanna Damiani (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) added 18. In addition to Egler's five total blocks, McWilliams had three and Cignetti and Schneider each had two.
The Crimson Hawks wrap up their conference-opening weekend on Saturday with matches against Cheyney at 12:30 p.m. and West Chester at 3:30 p.m.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.
