Pitt-Johnstown evened the match with a second-set win, but PSAC West leading Edinboro came back to win the next two sets to defeat the Mountain Cats, 3-sets-to-1, Friday night in the Sports Center.
Lualis Alvarado's match-high 15 kills and
Grace Miller's 12 kills paced Pitt-Johnstown, now 12-8 overall and 5-6 in the PSAC West.
Edinboro took the opening set, 25-20, before Pitt-Johnstown answered with a 30-28 with to even it. However, the Fighting Scots erased a late six-point deficit in the third set to earn a 25-22 win, then closed it out with a 25-10 victory.
Edinboro ran out to a 12-6 first set advantage on back-to-back Michaela Cloonan/Bella Burrelli blocks. Pitt-Johnstown scored four of the next five points, including two straight kills from Miller, to cut it to 14-10, before An
Ally Diamond service ace made it 22-19. However, the Fighting Scots never let the Mountain Cats get closer than three and were able to close out the 25-20 win with a kill from Natalie Pallone.
In the second set, Pitt-Johnstown scored four straight points to go in front, 12-9, on a
Lauren Gechter/
Cassie Pascarella block and a Gechter kill. After the Mountain Cats increased it to 20-16. Edinboro battled back to knot it
at 22 on Cloonan's kill. The set went to extra points, and the Mountain Cats eventually used Miller's kill and a block from Courtney and Miller to even the match with 30-28 win.
The Mountain Cats held the momentum and got a service ace from
Erin Carmody to climb out to a 13-10 third set advantage, before another kill from Miller pushed it out to 22-16. Edinboro stormed back to score the final nine points to secure a 25-22 win and take a 2-sets-to-1 lead on two straight kills from Pallone.
It was all Edinboro in the fourth set. Five unanswered points, capped by Bethany Miller's ace, put the Fighting Scots on top, 11-7, before Burrelli's kill got the lead into double digits at 18-8. Edinboro continued to build the lead and wrapped up the match with a 25-10 win.
Alvarado had 15 kills and five digs, while Miller added a dozen kills and 12 digs to pace the Mountain Cats. Courtney finished with nine kills and a pair of blocks, and Gechter and Pascarella each had seven kills.
Adiamar Beaz chipped-in six kills to go along with her match-high 49 set assists and 12 digs, and Carmody (38 digs) and
Karin Ilagan (11 digs) combined for 49 digs.
Alicia Eldridge and Pallone had 13 kills apeice to lead four Edinboro players who finished with double digit kills to help the Fighting Scots improve to 18-3 overall and 10-1 in the PSAC West.
Pitt-Johnstown will celebrate Senior Day against Gannon on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Sports Center, before wrapping-up the regular season with four straight road matches beginning at Seton Hill on Friday and California (PA) next Saturday.
