WHEELING, W.Va. – Senior outside hitter Alexis Anderson (Cleveland, Ohio/Mayfield) had 16 kills to help lead IUP women's volleyball to a three-set win over West Chester in the opening round of the 2017 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Championships on Thursday night at Wheeling Jesuit University.
 
It's been 12 years since the program's last NCAA tournament victory, defeating Slippery Rock in a five-setter in the opening round of the 2005 Division II Championships.
 
Despite a slow start, the Crimson Hawks (25-9) easily took the opening match over their conference rivals, dropping the Golden Rams in three sets by scores of 25-23, 25-11 and 25-12
 
Anderson's 16 kills were a match-high and marked her third straight outing with double-digit kills. She hit .448 on the night with just three errors in 29 total attacks. Her 16 kills also tied a season-high.
 
For the match, IUP hit .294 including an impressive .667 hitting percentage in the third set. The Crimson Hawks had 17 kills with just one error in 24 attacks in the deciding set.
 
Helping Anderson on the offensive side was senior outside hitter Natalie Cignetti (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) with eight kills. Senior setter Katie Miller (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) dished out 35 assists while junior libero Jess Marut (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) had 19 digs and senior middle Gabby Egler (Pittsburgh, Pa./Barack Obama Academy) finished with five total blocks.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks move onto the second round where they face top-seed and regional host Wheeling Jesuit (32-5), which defeated Winston Salem State in three sets on Thursday night. IUP is the fourth seed in the region.
 
These two teams met in September, with Wheeling picking up a three-set win at home. Cignetti had 12 kills while Anderson had 11.
 
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For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.