After a 25-20 first set loss, California (PA) answered with 28-28, 25-22, and 25-20 win to secure a four-set PSAC Western Division victory over the Pitt-Johnstown volleyball team, Saturday afternoon in California.  Grace Miller's match-high 14 kills and Katelyn Courtney's 13 kills led the Mountain Cats, who dropped their fifth straight match and slipped to 12-11 overall and 5-9 in the PSAC West.
 
Cal U opened-up a 104 lead out of the gate, but Pitt-Johnstown responded with a 12-5 run, capped by kills from Courtney and Cassie Pascarella to go on top, 16-15.  The Mountain Cats continued their good play and pushed it out to 21-17 on a Miller kill and took the first set, 25-20, on Adiamar Beaz's kill.
 
Kaylin Burkey's kill and a Pitt-Johnstown attack error helped the Vulcans erase an early three-point deficit and give Cal U a 12-10 lead midway through the second set.  The Mountain Cats briefly regained the lead, before seven straight points from the Vulcans made it 19-13.  Cal U went on to even the match at one set each with a 25-18 win on back-to-back Sarah Moehring kills.
 
Five straight points gave the Vulcans an 8-4 lead in the third.  Pitt-Johnstown came back to knot it at 10 on an Erin Carmody service ace and Lualis Alvarado's kill, before Miller's kills and a pair of Cal U attack errors gave the lead back to the Mountain Cats at, 18-17.  However, the Vulcans scored five of the final seven points to break a 20-all tie and take the set, 25-22.
 
Cal U started fast by scoring the first five points in the fourth set.  Four unanswered points, including Beaz's ace, cut the Mountain Cat deficit to 12-10, but that was as close as it would get.  The Vulcans regained control and extended their lead to 21-13 on kills from Chelsea Howard and Jaiden Armitage and went to the four-set victory with a 25-20 win.
 
Along with Miller and Courtney, Pitt-Johnstown also got nine kills and 15 digs from Alvarado, eight kills and two block assists from Lauren Gechter, and seven kills from Pascarella.
 
Beaz had three kills, a match-high 46 set assists, and 13 digs, while Carmody finished with a match-high 13 digs, and Karin Ilagan added nine digs for the Mountain Cats.
 
Armitage's 13 kills and two blocks paced four Vulcans who finished in double figures in kills.  Howard and Burkey each had 11 kills and Moehring tallied 10 kills and 2- digs for Cal U, which completed the season sweep over Pitt-Johnstown and improved to 13-10 overall and 8-6 in the PSAC West.
 
Pitt-Johnstown closes out the 2021 regular season with PSAC West matches at Indiana (PA) on Tuesday and at Clarion on Saturday.