ERIE, Pa. – Despite a double-double from three different players, the IUP women's volleyball team fell to third seed Pitt-Johnstown, 3-1 (23-25, 22-25, 28-26, 22-25) in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament semifinals on Friday evening at the Hammermill Center.
With the loss, the Crimson Hawks fall to 20-11 and will await word on a potential at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. IUP entered the PSAC tournament as the No. 9 seed in the latest Atlantic Region rankings. The winners of the PSAC, Mountain East Conference (MEC) and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championship while the next five highest ranked teams earn at-large bids.
The Mountain Cats improve to 24-8 and will play the winner of the Gannon vs. California (Pa.) match in the championship match tomorrow.
Junior
Natalie Cignetti (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) totaled 18 kills and 21 digs while senior
Kaitlyn Palmer (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) tallied 17 kills and 14 digs. Senior
Lily McWilliams (Rockville, Md./Thomas Sprigg Wootton) added 11 kills and 13 digs while classmate
Lindsay Moeller (Troy, Mich./Troy) recorded seven kills and 12 digs.
Defensively, the Crimson Hawks were led by a team-high 25 digs from sophomore
Jess Marut (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside). Junior
Gabby Egler (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Obama Academy) was one of six IUP players with at least one block assist as she tallied a match-high 10. McWilliams added five block assists while Palmer added four block assists.
Pitt-Johnstown opened the first set on a 5-1 run before IUP responded with 9-0 run to take a 10-5 lead after a kill from senior
Lily McWilliams (Rockville, Md./Thomas Sprigg Wootton). The Mountain Cats tied the match at 17-17 after a kill from Maura Brehl. A kill from Cignetti pulled the Crimson Hawks to within 21-20 before falling 25-23.
The Mountain Cats raced out to an early 7-2 lead in the second set. A kill from Palmer cut the Pitt-Johnstown lead to 16-14. A Mountain Cat service error pulled the Crimson Hawks to within 21-20 before Pitt-Johnstown won the set with a kill from Kendall Mahony.
The third set saw IUP jump out to an early 7-5 lead on a kill from Palmer. After the Crimson Hawks took a timeout, IUP used a 6-2 run to take a 15-11 lead on another Palmer kill. The Mountain Cats tied the set at 21-21 on a kill from Mahony. Trailing 25-24, the Crimson Hawks rattled off four of the next five points to win the set 28-26.
IUP and Pitt-Johnstown began the fourth set with an early 6-6 tie after a kill from Egler. Moments later the Crimson Hawks extended the lead to 12-9 on a kill from Cignetti. The Mountain Cats responded with an 8-2 run to push the lead to 17-14. Three consecutive attack errors by the Mountain Cats and a kill from Cignetti gave the Crimson Hawks an 18-17 lead. Pitt-Johnstown answered with an 8-4 run to take the set 25-22 and the match.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.
