Noelle Carota had 17 kills and Maura Brehl added 13 kills to help the Pitt-Johnstown volleyball team hold on for a five-set victory with a 15-12 win in the final set at Fairmont State (WV) University, Saturday afternoon.
 
The Mountain Cats took the first set 25-18, but Fairmont State took the second set, 25-20.  Another 25-18 win by Pitt-Johnstown got the lead back, before the Fighting Falcons forced a deciding set with a 25-20 win.  However, Pitt-Johnstown was able to close out the match with the 15-12 win the in fifth set.
 
Pitt-Johnstown used a J.C. Longeville service ace and a Fairmont State attack error to run out to an 11-5 lead, before the Fighting Falcons cut it to 12-9 on Rebecca Feeney's kill.  That was as close as it would get.  The Mountain Cats pushed the lead back out to seven at 20-13 on Brehl's kill, and finished the 25-18 win with a kill from Anna Johns and another Fairmont State attack error.
 
In the second set, neither team held a lead larger than two until Fairmont State put together a 6-2 run, capped by an Emily Suppel kill, to go in front 17-13.  The Fighting Falcons got it out to a five-point advantage, but back-to-back aces from Longville narrowed the deficit to 22-20.  However, Fairmont State was able to hold on and got kills from Suppel and Emma Mobley to even the match with the 25-21 win.
 
The Mountain Cats started fast in the third set.  Pitt-Johnstown raced out to a commanding 13-4 lead on kills from Tatiana Pitcher and Caitlin Vrabel and a Fairmont State bad set.  The Fighting Falcons answered with a 6-1 spurt to make it 14-10, but Carota's kill quickly pushed it back out to 17-11.  Pitt-Johnstown then went on to another 25 18 victory on Brehl's kill and Longville's fourth ace of the match.
 
Carota's kills gave Pitt-Johnstown an early 7-3 lead in the fourth set, but Fairmont State clawed back to regain the lead 10-9 on an Alyssa Bays kill.  The Fighting Falcons increased it to 21 17 on Taylor Wisniewski's kills and a Pitt-Johnstown error and held on, 25-20, to force a fifth set.
 
In the final set, the Mountain Cats opened-up a 5-0 lead on blocks from Grace Miller and Johns.  The Fighting Scots came back to 13-12, but Pitt-Johnstown got a block from Johns, and a combined block from Carota and Johns to seal the five-set win with the 15-12 victory.
 
Carota collected a match-high 17 kills and two blocks, while Brehl finished with 13 kills, 17 digs, and a pair of blocks to pace the Mountain Cats.
 
Pitt-Johnstown also got eight kills and a block from Vrabel, seven kills and a block from Miller, and four kills and a match-high nine blocks from Johns.
 
Morgan Yurkovich tallied a match-high 22 set assists and eight digs, and Longville had 18 assists, a match-high five aces, and nine digs for the Mountain Cats.  Erin Carmody chipped-in 24 digs and three aces, and Hailey Mackenthun had 11 digs.
 
Fairmont State, which slipped to 0-2 to begin the year, was led by Mobley's 13 kills and 23 digs, and Suppel's 11 kills and three blocks.
 
Pitt-Johnstown travels to the Walsh (OH) University Tournament for four matches next weekend and to the West Liberty/Wheeling Jesuit Tournament on September 8.  The Mountain Cats will make their 2018 home debut in the Sports Center with PSAC matches against California University (PA) on September 21 at 7 p.m. and Seton Hill University on September 22 at 1 p.m.