INDIANA, Pa. – Despite 11 kills from Kylie Osborn and a spirited third set performance, the IUP women's volleyball team fell to visiting Pitt-Johnstown in three sets Saturday afternoon at the Kovalchick Complex.
 
With the loss the Crimson Hawks fall to 4-10 on the year and 0-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). This was the opening weekend for PSAC play. UPJ improves to 5-6 overall and 1-1 in the league.
 
The Mountain Cats took the match with scores of 25-9, 25-19 and 25-23.
 
After a poor opening set performance, the Crimson Hawks were out to another rough start in the second as UPJ took an 18-8 lead before a timeout was called. IUP rallied after that timeout, outscoring UPJ 9-4 to cut its deficit to 22-17.
 
A few moments later it was a 23-19 Mountain Cats lead before they closed out the set with a couple of IUP errors.
 
After falling behind 9-5 in the third set, the Crimson Hawks roared back with eight straight points to take a 13-9 lead, getting a mixture of kills from Jaden Fuller, Jasmine Raudys and Osborn, combined with UPJ errors.
 
IUP remained on top until the Mountains Cats tied the set at 19-19. The two teams traded points the rest of the way, with UPJ getting the final two points for a 25-23 win to clinch the match.
 
Osborn was the only IUP player to finish with double-digit kills (11) or points (11.5) for the match. Six other Crimson Hawks combined for the remaining 14 team kills. IUP finished with 7.0 team blocks, with Raudys getting a team-high four (three assists, one solo). Senior libero Jess Marut finished with 12 digs.
 
Up next
The Crimson Hawks take a break from conference play Tuesday when they host Wheeling Jesuit (11-3) from the Mountain East Conference. Game time is 6 p.m. at the Memorial Field House.
 
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.