SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Senior outside hitter Natalie Cignetti (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) had 19 kills and hit .472 to lead IUP women's volleyball to a three-set victory over West Virginia Wesleyan at the Notre Dame College Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Crimson Hawks finished the weekend with wins in all three of their matches, improving to 9-3 overall ahead of next weekend's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opener. IUP defeated the Bobcats by scores of 25-15, 25-15 and 25-14.
 
Cignetti led the IUP attack all weekend, totaling 51 kills with an average of 5.10 kills per set and a .410 hitting percentage in the Crimson Hawks' three wins. She also had five aces and averaged 5.70 points in the 10 total sets she played. Cignetti now leads the PSAC with 4.28 kills per set this season.
 
She's now just 19 kills away from becoming the fifth player in program history with 1,000 career kills.
 
On Saturday, IUP hit .284 as a team while limiting Wesleyan (2-8) to just a .022 offensive attack percentage. Senior middle blocker Gabby Egler (Pittsburgh, Pa./Barack Obama Academy) had three block assists and a solo stuff, as the Crimson Hawks totaled six team blocks in three sets.
 
Egler also had three of IUP's six service aces on Saturday, with Ellie Burns (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) adding two and Katie Miller (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) getting another. Miller had 36 assists on IUP's 41 total kills.
 
Up next
IUP opens PSAC play next weekend with a weekend road trip, heading to East Stroudsburg on Friday and Kutztown on Saturday.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.