INDIANA, Pa. – After suffering a hard-fought five set loss on Friday, the IUP women's volleyball tea resiliently bounced back on Saturday with wins against Pitt-Johnstown and Wheeling at the KCAC.
 
IUP (13-5, 3-1) held on for a 3-2 victory against Pitt-Johnstown before dispatching Wheeling in four sets.
 
IUP has won nine of its last 11 matches following two more triumph on Saturday.
 
Match One – Pitt-Johnstown
IUP held off Pitt-Johnstown for a five-set victory, coming in set scores of 18-25, 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 15-13.
 
Bailey Flowerdew surpassed 1,000 career digs in the match with 23 on Saturday, entering the day just nine shy of the milestone. Meanwhile, IUP showcased some of its depth in the latter stages in holding on for a big division victory.
 
Playing its second five-set match in under 24 hours, IUP was guided offensively by Nyla Birch's 16 kills. Lauren Valentic added nine kills and nine blocks and Hannah Simmons handed out a team-high 22 assists. Stefania Anagnostou dropped in three service aces and posted 15 digs of her own in another all-around effort for the Crimson Hawks. IUP held a big advantage in blocks (14-5) in what was otherwise an evenly played match statistically.
 
Pitt-Johnstown (10-4, 1-2) showcased its much-improved squad throughout the match, taking sets one and four and holding a late 13-12 edge in the fifth set. Lualis Alvarado fired 17 kills for the Mountain Cats with Natalie Lippincott notching 12 more.
 
A Liredys Casiano service ace pushed UPJ to a 15-11 lead in the opening set. IUP trimmed the deficit to 19-17 but the Mountain Cats countered with six of the last seven points for the early lead in the match.
 
UPJ carried the momentum into the second set with a 7-4 lead before IUP moved in front at 12-11 off an assisted block from Delaney Concannon and Valentic. A five-point surge was part of a larger 8-1 rally for IUP, providing IUP a 20-16 advantage. The run was capped by a Simay Memisoglu kill, providing IUP a lead it would maintain for the rest of the stanza.
 
Trailing 15-10 in the third set, IUP rattled off five consecutive points that knotted the frame at 15. UPJ worked its lead to 23-20 before another five-point swing handed the Hawks the lead in the match. Concannon had two service aces in the final third-set charge, while Anagnostou added a kill.
 
A decisive seven-point swing turned a tie score into a 23-16 UPJ advantage in the fourth set. The Hawks chipped away the deficit to 24-21 after consecutive kills from Valentic and Grace Mangapora, but the Mountain Cats leveled the match on an Adiamar Beaz kill.
 
The deciding fifth set was close throughout with neither side able to pull ahead by more than a few points. A three-point closing flurry, which included a kill from Birch, handed set five to the Crimson Hawks at 15-13.
 
Match Two – Wheeling
IUP battled back after dropping the first set, finishing out the match with two extended set victories. Facing a Wheeling team in a rematch of last season's NCAA Tournament in Erie, IUP smacked nine aces and added 14 more blocks in the victory.
 
The Hawks took the match in set scores of 19-25, 25-21, 26-24, 26-24. Concannon paced IUP with 16 kills with Birch adding 15 and Memisoglu recording 10 more. In the blocking game, Memisoglu and Valentic logged seven each with Walsh posting six.
 
Warpisnki notched 27 assists and Flowerdew posted 25 digs, one of three Crimson Hawks with 10 or more digs on the night (Concannon, Mangapora). Karly Niewsen dealt out 41 assists for the Cardinals with Tyler Yeomans collecting 13 kills.
 
After a back and forth start, Wheeling opened up a 15-10 lead in the first set. The Cardinals widened that margin to 21-14 and closed out the frame with a kill from Riley Kindall.
 
A four point swing in the second set gave IUP some breathing room at 10-6, capped by a block from Memisoglu and Valentic. Wheeling battled back, trimming the deficit to just one as IUP maintained a narrow lead. Consecutive kills from Birch, coming off sets from Warpinski, carried IUP to a 25-21 victory in the second set.
 
Wheeling used a surge that carried the visitors to a 19-13 advantage in the third set. IUP got back within one point at 20-19 on a Memisoglu kill before taking a narrow 23-22 lead on a Wheeling attack error. Three straight points, capped by a Concannon kill lifted the Hawks to a 26-24 set triumph.
 
In the fourth set, IUP ruged ahead 20-15 on a big swing from Concannon. Wheeling did not go quietly, however, holding off six potential match points by evening the tally at 24. Anagostou and a Wheeling error proved to be the difference in the 26-24 set victory.
 
Up Next
IUP makes its Erie trip, beginning on Friday, October 6 at Gannon. First serve from the Highmark Events Center is set for 7:00 p.m.
 
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.
 

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