WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Senior outside hitter Natalie Cignetti (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) posted a season-high 25 kills to lead IUP women's volleyball to a four-set victory at non-conference opponent West Liberty on Tuesday evening.
 
Cignetti's 25 kills came on 69 attempts, with just five errors as she hit .290 and averaged 6.25 kills per set. She also put up her third double-double of the year with 14 digs, adding two service aces and two block assists for 28.0 total points.
 
The Crimson Hawks improved to 4-1 with the win, taking the opening two sets by scores of 25-22 and 28-26. West Liberty won the third 25-19 and IUP clinched the match with a 25-18 set four win. It was IUP's first victory of the year that didn't come in three sets.  
 
Cignetti was one of three players with double-figure kills, with junior middle blocker Sami Brown (Lewisberry, Pa./Red Land) and senior outside hitter Alexis Anderson (Cleveland, Ohio/Mayfield) each tallying 14. Anderson added 17 digs, three aces and two block assists, while Brown had four block assists.
 
Cignetti, Marut moving up the record books
With her 25 kills, Cignetti moved into the program's career top 10 with 880 in her three-plus seasons. She's now just 22 behind ninth place Danielle Ostendorf (902) and 35 shy of tying eighth place Trisha Gerus (915).
 
Junior libero Jess Marut (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) also moved up in the IUP annals, as her 23 digs on Tuesday pushed her past Hall of Famer Laura Hall (1999-02) for fourth place with 1,285 career digs. She's 52 away from tying Krista Nordby (2004-07) for third place with 1,337.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks are scheduled to travel back to West Virginia this weekend to compete in a PSAC/Mountain East crossover with Notre Dame (Ohio), Charleston, West Virginia State and Urbana.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.