CALIFORNIA, Pa. – IUP women's volleyball capped a stretch of back-to-back conference road games with another victory on Saturday, this time knocking off California (Pa.) in straight sets at the Convocation Center.
IUP (18-5, 8-4) notched its second sweep in as many meetings with California (Pa.) (11-10, 5-7) with the victory. The Crimson hawks took the match in set scores of 25-20, 31-29 and 25-20.
Cal U was looking to continue its momentum from Friday after knocking off division-leading Clarion. The team statistics were relatively even, with IUP holding a 10-3 edge in service aces.
Brooke Little paced IUP with 10 kills, with
Caroline Walsh adding nine on a .304 hitting percentage.
Lauren Valentic was also efficient with eight kills and a .417 hitting percentage, also providing six block assists.
Grace Mangapora added six kills, four service aces and 12 digs and
Leah Henderson recorded 37 assists.
The Vulcans received 10 kills each from Kaylin Burkey and Elisa Rugiero. Kelly Lynch had 11 digs and Rachel Simon added 29 assists on the day.
Things went back and forth early in the first set with IUP battling back from a quick Cal start. The Vulcans held a narrow advantage for much of the frame before a 6-1 run lifted the Crimson Hawks ahead by three. Mangapora fired in a kill before adding a service ace in the run for IUP, which posted the final four points of the set. Henderson rounded out the frame with consecutive service aces.
The marathon second set saw more back and forth action between the two sides. Cal opened up an early 8-5 advantage before IUP moved back in front with a timely spurt. From there, it was evenly played with neither side leading by more than two points. The Vulcans held off set point twice, extending the set to 25-24. IUP countered with back-to-back kills from Walsh, handing the Crimson Hawks a 26-25 advantage before the Vulcans answered back. Ultimately, IUP went on the attack at the end of the set, recording three consecutive kills for a 31-29 triumph.
Cal opened up a 7-3 edge in the third set, later expanding it to 13-8. IUP opened up a 9-1 scoring run, regaining the momentum with service aces for
Hannah Simmons and Mangapora.
Nicole Peterson posted two of her four kills on the afternoon in the final stages of the third set, securing the match for IUP.
Up Next
IUP is back home on Friday, October 28 for the Dig Pink match against Pitt-Johnstown on Friday, October 28 at 6:00 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.
