INDIANA, Pa. – Juniors
Alexis Anderson (Cleveland, Ohio/Mayfield) and
Natalie Cignetti (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) combined for 37 kills and eight service aces to push IUP women's volleyball past visiting Kutztown in the conference opener for both squads on Friday night at the Kovalchick Complex.
Anderson finished with a season-high 20 kills on 48 total attacks while Cignetti added 17 on 39 attacks. The kill totals for the duo were the two highest for both teams, as IUP improved to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Kutztown fell to 3-9 and 0-1.
The Crimson Hawks started out with a 25-18 opening set victory, using an 8-1 run in the middle to open up a lead and hold Kutztown at arm's length down the stretch.
Kutztown fought back for a 25-22 win in the second set, as IUP committed nine hitting errors and hit just .098 for the set. The Crimson Hawks led for nearly the entire set, wasting an 18-15 advantage, with Kutztown breaking ties of 19-19 and 21-21 to score four of the last five points for the win.
IUP stormed back in the third, hitting .455 with 18 kills to win 25-17. Junior
Katie Miller (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) stepped in at setter to post 10 assists while Anderson tallied nine kills.
The Crimson Hawks were forced to rally in the fourth to get the win, falling behind 16-10 before a 5-1 run cut their deficit to two. A 3-0 run later in the set gave IUP its first lead at 21-20, but the Golden Bears rallied to go to set point at 24-23. Cignetti stopped the Kutztown rally with her 17th kill of the night,
Lily McWilliams (Rockville, Md./Thomas Sprigg Wootton) and
Aryn Dubosky (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) blocked an attack to give IUP a one-point lead, and Cignetti finished things off with an ace to give the Crimson Hawks the win.
McWilliams finished the night with seven kills, five digs and a pair of block assists. Cignetti and Anderson each had eight digs while sophomore
Jess Marut (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) had a match-high 23. Miller finished with 22 assists while senior
Lindsay Moeller (Troy, Mich./Troy) had 21.
The Crimson Hawks are back again tomorrow when they host East Stroudsburg in the Memorial Field House at 2 p.m.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.
