INDIANA, Pa. – Taking care of business to finish out the regular season, IUP held on down the stretch for a straight-set victory against Mercyhurst on Saturday night inside the Memorial Field House.
Playing potentially the team's final home game of the 2022 campaign, IUP (20-7, 10-6) earned its second sweep of Mercyhurst (3-22, 1-15) this season.
Clinching the three seed in the upcoming Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament, IUP posted its first 20-win season since 2017. The Crimson Hawks travel to face Clarion in the PSAC Quarterfinals on Wednesday, November 9.
Gannon and Clarion squared off in Saturday's regular-season finale with first place in the PSAC West on the line. The Golden Knights, which knocked off IUP on Friday, held off Clarion in five sets to claim home court advantage for the duration of the conference tournament.
The Crimson Hawks made some key plays when it mattered, particularly in the second and third sets, winning the match by scores of 25-19, 25-23 and 28-26.
Nicole Peterson dropped down 10 kills, entering the postseason just one point shy of 1,000 for her career.
Brooke Little and
Lauren Valentic added nine kills and five blocks each in a balanced effort.
Kyle Schnars and Paige Miller logged nine kills apiece for the visiting Lakers, who pushed IUP in the later portions of the match as part of the team's season finale. After hitting .393 in the opening set, the Crimson Hawks cooled off for the remainder of the match, thanks in large part to an uptick in the defensive play from the Lakers.
A strong offensive push helped IUP move ahead 12-8 following a kill from Valentic, service ace from
Leah Henderson and kill from Little. Another series of consecutive points lifted IUP to leads of 16-10 and 22-15 in the opening set. Mercyhurst did nit go down quietly, but Little put an emphatic swing to close out the frame with a 25-19 victory.
Mercyhurst had a response for each run IUP put together in the second set. A block from Valentic and Little gave IUP some breathing room at 21-17, but it was short lived as Mercyhurst carved its deficit to 22-21.
Rylee Brown delivered one of her three kills on the evening and a Laker attack error pushed IUP to the 25-23 set victory.
IUP stormed ahead 9-3 in the third set and seemed determined to end the match going away. The Lakers stayed in the mix, later using a 5-1 spurt to pull within one at 21-20. Another 5-1 surge put Mercyhurst in the driver's seat, moving in front 25-24, the team's first lead in the frame. The Crimson Hawks rebounded with the final three points of the evening, taking the extended frame by a 28-26 count.
UP NEXT
IUP hits the road for the PSAC Quarterfinals, traveling to Clarion on Wednesday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m.
FOLLOW
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.
