Pitt-Johnstown ousts Vulcans from volleyball tourney
The California University of Pa. women’s volleyball team tied up the first-round match of the NCAA Division II Tournament Friday night, but Pitt-Johnstown came back to win the next two for a 3-1 victory.
The Vulcans are eliminated from the tournament with the loss, finishing the season with an overall mark of 22-10. The Mountain Cats improve to 25-9 and advance to face top-seeded and host Wheeling Jesuit.
Pitt-Johnstown won the first set, 25-19, but the Vulcans rallied to tie the match with a 25-21 win in the second set. The Mountain Cats then closed out the playoff victory, 25-17, 25-19.
The Vulcans led early in the first set, but the Mountain Cats finished strong for the set win.
California again led early, 7-4, in the set that had nine ties and three lead changes. The Vulcans needed three set points before securing the win.
Danielle Hayes led the Vulcans with 15 kills and added 11 digs for her 16th double-double of the season. Hayes, a senior, closed her career with 1,103 kills to rank 10th all-time. She is also the only player in the PSAC to top 450 kills this season.
Teammate Megan Litoborski finished with 33 assists and a team-high 19 digs, her 17th double-double of the season. She finished sixth all-time with 2,927 assists and closed with over 1,000 digs.
Seairra Barrett (10 kills), Ashley Leto (15 digs), and Bayleana Sowers (15 digs) also had noteworthy performances for the Vulcans.
Laurel Highlands graduate Marissa Erminio had nine kills and six digs for the Mountain Cats. Kendall Mahony led the way with 15 kills. Allison Mondorff dished out a match-high 38 assists, adding 13 digs to her strong effort. Devan Orr finished with a match-high 22 digs.