JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – IUP women's volleyball nabbed a hard-fought victory on the road against a resilient Pitt-Johnstown side on Tuesday night, pushing its winning streak to four consecutive matches with a 3-1 victory.
After cruising in the first set, IUP (14-2, 4-1) dropped an extended second set before securing the match with victories in sets three and four. The Crimson Hawks picked up the victory in set scores of 25-15, 24-26, 25-15 and 25-19.
Leah Henderson surpassed the 2,000-career assist mark in the victory. Henderson finished the night with four kills, 43 assists, five aces and eight digs for IUP.
Nicole Peterson registered a match-high 16 kills, adding nine digs.
Brooke Little was efficient throughout the evening with 11 kills and a scorching .529 hitting percentage.
The Crimson Hawks have now won two straight against Pitt-Johnstown (7-10, 1-4) after dropping the previous four matchups in the head-to-head series. IUP hit .246 for the match despite 14 service errors, holding a 51-35 edge in assists.
Lauren Valentic ripped down a pair of consecutive aces as part of a larger 5-2 run at the onset of the opening set. While UPJ answered back, the Crimson Hawks rattled off four consecutive points for a 10-5 advantage. Peterson and Valentic posted kills in the run for IUP, which continued out of the stoppage for a 13-5 lead.
The Crimson Hawks maintained the lead in the first set with some strong offensive play, doubling up UPJ at 20-10 following a
Caroline Walsh kill. IUP closed out the set with by a 25-15 margin. Valentic paced the Crimson Hawks with five kills in the frame, adding two aces and a solo block. IUP hit .290 as a team in the set victory, limiting UPJ to a hitting percentage of .080 on 25 total attacks.
Both sides traded points in the early portions of the second set. IUP built a cushion following a 4-1 spurt, highlighted by two kills for Peterson, for a 10-7 lead. The Mountain Lions stayed within striking distance before IUP began to take over. A big swing from Little expanded the IUP lead to 13-9 on her fifth kill of the evening.
The Mountain Cats battled back with a run of their own, tying the score at 14 in the second set. Off an error, UPJ worked its advantage to 18-16, prompting an IUP timeout. The Crimson Hawks had a big swing of three consecutive points with an ace from Henderson, moving the visitors back in front at 22-21. The Mountain Cats capped off an extended second set with a block for a 26-24 triumph, leveling the match at one. Team stats in set two were nearly even across the board with IUP committing three more errors in the stanza.
The Mountain Cats used the momentum in the early stages of set three, but IUP battled back with three consecutive points for a 6-6 tie. A block from Peterson jumpstarted a stretch of eight consecutive points, moving IUP in front at 15-8.
Stefania Anagnostou, Henderson and Peterson all recorded kills in another run for the Crimson Hawks, pushing the lead to 24-14. Walsh capped the frame with a kill from the right side for an emphatic 25-15 set victory. The Crimson Hawks hit a blistering .321 in the third set with 12 kills and three aces.
After a long rally, IUP pushed its lead to 5-3 following an attack error. A brief run brought UPJ to within one at 7-6 as IUP maintained the slim margin. The Crimson Hawks built some breathing room after kills from Little and Walsh placed the advantage at 14-10. UPJ whittled the deficit down to just one following a three-point surge at 16-15, forcing IUP into a timeout. The Crimson Hawks powered past UPJ at 20-16 with four kills out of the stoppage. In total, IUP closed out the final set with a 9-4 surge, capped by a UPJ ball handling error to close out the match.
Bailey Flowerdew posted 19 digs with four assists for the Crimson Hawks. Lualis Alvarado fired in 10 kills with an ace for UPJ.
Up Next
IUP visits Clarion for PSAC West road action on Saturday, October 1 at noon.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.
