
Lauren Gechter had 17 kills to pace four Mountain Cats who finished with double-digit kills and help Pitt-Johnstown erase a two-set deficit, but Edinboro secured a 15-9 win in the fifth set to earn the PSAC Western Division volleyball victory, Saturday afternoon in Edinboro. Pitt-Johnstown slipped to 9-3 overall and 2-2 in conference-play.
Edinboro took the first two sets, 25-17 and 25-20, before Pitt-Johnstown answered with a 25-13 and 25-21 wins. However, the Fighting Scots built an early fifth set lead and took the 15-9 win.
Pitt-Johnstown got back in it in the third set.
Lexi Pendergraft's kill gave the Mountain Cats a 6-2 lead, before the Mountain Cats took control and cruised to the 25-13 win on a pair of kills from
Lualis Alvarado.


In the fourth set, Pitt-Johnstown held a three point lead early in the set, but Edinboro clawed back to go in front 16-14 on kills from Bella Burrelli and Erica Sharp. Back-to-back service aces from
Erin Carmody put the Mountain Cats back on top by two, and
Lauren Gechter and Alvarado kills made it 23-19. Pitt-Johnstown went on to force a fifth set with a 25-21 victory on two straight Fighting Scots' errors.
Edinboro jumped out to a 7-3 fifth-set advantage, then outscored the Mountain Cats, 8-6, down the stretch to close out the match with the 15-9 victory.
Along with Gechter, Alvarado had 14 kills and 15 digs,
Cassie Pascarella tallied 14 kills, and
Grace Miller chipped-in 11 digs for the Mountain cats.
Katelyn Courtney also gave Pitt-Johnstown four kills, three solo blocks, and five digs.
Adiamar Beaz led the way for the Mountain Cats with 49 set assists and 17 digs, while Carmody finished with a match-high 28 digs and a pair of aces, and
Molly Ayres had 12 digs.
Edinboro, which made it seven straight wins and improved to 11-1 overall and 4-0 in the PSAC West, was led by Burrelli's match-high 18 kills and 21 digs and Abby Monn's 12 kills and 13 digs.
Pitt-Johnstown returns home to host PSAC West matches in the Sports Center against California (PA) on Friday at 7 p.m. and Seton Hill on Saturday at 1 p.m.