Mallory Pinske's career-high 14 kills were not enough for Pitt-Johnstown as the Mountain Cats fell to West Liberty 3-1 in a nonconference volleyball match on Tuesday night.

Pitt-Johnstown dropped the first set 20-25, then bounced back with a 25-22 win to knot the match at 1-all. West Liberty answered with a 25-16 win in the third set and finished off the match with a 25-22 victory in the fourth frame.

With the opening set tied at 15-all, the Hilltoppers rattled off five straight points to go up 20-15 before hanging on for the victory.

The Mountain Cats never trailed in the second set thanks to seven kills by Pinske and five from Lualis Alvarado, who racked up 13 kills and nine digs.

After jumping out to a 10-5 advantage to begin the third set, the Hilltoppers strung together five straight points to take a commanding 16-5 lead. Leah Driscoll provided seven of her 10 kills in the set to help West Liberty go up 2-1.

Riley Cudnik collected a team-high 11 kills for the Hilltoppers. Nina Billotto also provided 10 kills. Haley Zeck dished out 30 assists. Nyia Setla had a team-high 23 digs, while Kaija Sydlowski added 12 digs and seven kills.

Despite climbing back to tie the fourth set at 15-all, Pitt-Johnstown could not recover from a 5-1 run that put West Liberty on top 21-16. A kill by Billotto sealed the fourth set to help the Hilltoppers improve to 5-4 on the season.

Reagan Morris and Katelyn Courtney combined for eight kills for Pitt-Johnstown (2-6). Adiamar Beaz compiled 23 assists and 15 digs. Pinske and Abi Leitner each had four blocks apiece. Gabi DeRenzo tallied a match-high 25 digs, while Lexi Pendergraft had 10.

The Mountain Cats open the 2022 Seton Hill University Tournament against Point Park University at 9:30 a.m. on Friday. Pitt-Johnstown's home opener against Salem (WV) University is scheduled for Sept. 13 at 6 p.m.