INDIANA, Pa. – Senior outside hitters Natalie Cignetti (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) and Alexis Anderson (Cleveland, Ohio/Mayfield) combined for 31 kills to lead the Crimson Hawks to a huge three-set sweep of Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday afternoon at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
Cignetti finished with 19 kills and a .362 hitting percentage while Anderson added 12 kills as IUP improved to 21-7 overall and 12-3 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
 
The Crimson Hawks clinched their second straight PSAC tournament berth with the victory, as they're one of four teams who have already punched tickets to the postseason with one regular season week left to play.
 
The IUP win also broke up the top of the PSAC standings, as the Crimson Hawks now find themselves in a three-way tie with Gannon and division-rival Seton Hill for the best league record at 12-3. Pitt-Johnstown and Shippensburg were part of that tie heading into Saturday's action.
 
The Crimson Hawks took close early sets with scores of 25-23 and 27-25, before imposing their will in a 25-16 match-clinching third set.
 
In the opening set, the score was tied at 22-22 leading to an IUP timeout. The Crimson Hawks then came off the bench and scored three of the last four points, including kills by Cignetti and Gabby Egler (Pittsburgh, Pa./Barack Obama Academy) to win the set. A late point by UPJ in the second set seemed to give the Mountain Cats momentum as they tied the score at 25-25, but again IUP responded with back-to-back kills by Anderson and Jessica Ignace (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon) for the win.
 
IUP led the third set 16-14 before ripping off runs of 5-0 and 4-0 to seal the win.         
 
The Crimson Hawks hit .252 as a team, as Ignace added eight kills and Egler had six. Breanna Damiani (Seven Fields, Pa./Seneca Valley) had a match-high 20 digs, while Ellie Burns (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) added 12 and Jess Marut (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) had 11. Cignetti posted her second straight double-double with 13 digs. Katie Miller (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) dished out 38 assists.
 
Cignetti and Anderson have great weekends
Cignetti continued her dominant weekend play, as she totaled 41 kills, 6.83 kills per set, and a .340 hitting percentage three-set wins over Lock Haven and UPJ. Anderson also turned up the offensive production with 26 combined kills on Friday and Saturday.
 
Crimson Hawks fall to Point Park in the evening
IUP played a non-conference match at night, falling to Point Park, an NAIA school, in four sets. With Cignetti, Anderson, Miller taking rest, the Crimson Hawks jumped out to the lead with a 25-21 set one victory. Point Park (21-13) then came back with wins of 25-17, 25-20 and 25-15.
 
Allison Rife (York, Pa./Central York) led IUP with 12 kills, Dominica Niccolai (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) had 33 assists, and Ellie Burns (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) had 19 digs.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks wrap up their regular season next week with three divisional opponents, as they try to position themselves for the upcoming PSAC tournament. IUP will host Clarion on Tuesday, California on Friday, and Seton Hill for Senior Day on Saturday.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.