CALIFORNIA, Pa. – Freshmen Nicole Peterson and Brooke Little combined for 49 kills and junior Jasmine Raudys led the defensive effort as the IUP women's volleyball team split its two matches on the first day of the Vulcan Invitational at Cal U Friday.
 
Both matches went five sets as the Crimson Hawks fell to Davis & Elkins and defeated Lake Erie.
 
Little led the team with 25 kills while Peterson averaged team-bests of 3.00 kills and 3.50 points per set. Raudys had 17 kills offensively and 12 block assists, helping IUP finish with a combined 19.0 team blocks on the day.
 
The Crimson Hawks (1-5) had to hang on to earn their win after taking the first two sets from Lake Erie by close scores of 25-22 and 27-25. The Storm (1-5) rallied with wins of 25-16 and 25-22 to tie the match before IUP clinched its first victory of the year with a 15-12 score in the fifth.
 
The fifth set win included eight ties with neither team gaining more than a two point lead until the end. The final tie came at 11-11 and with the Crimson Hawks clinging to a 13-12 lead, they forced two straight Lake Erie attacking errors for the win.
 
Peterson finished with 22 kills, her second 20-plus performance in six matches this season. Leah Henderson had 43 assists.
 
In the first match IUP led 2-1 before dropping a pair of two-point losses 25-23 and 16-14 as Davis & Elkins (2-3) rallied. Little led the team with 15 kills and 16.5 points while Raudys had 10 kills and eight block assists. Dominica Niccolai and Henderson split time at setter with 26 and 21 assists, respectively.
 
Up next
IUP will play West Liberty at 1 p.m. and Daemen at 4 p.m. Saturday.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.