Pitt-Johnstown put on a defensive masterclass to make quick work of Cal (PA) in a three-set sweep (25-12, 25-15, 25-21) on Saturday afternoon inside the Sports Center.

The Mountain Cats more than doubled up the Vulcans in kills (42-20) on their way to a third straight victory to improve to 14-6 (5-3 PSAC).

Lualis Alvarado was once again the main catalyst with a match-high 10 kills to pair with two aces and 14 digs. Natalie Lippincott and Mallory Pinske each provided eight kills and combined for five solo blocks. 

Adiamar Beaz passed out a match-high 35 assists and notched eight digs. Gabi DeRenzo had a match-high 28 of Pitt-Johnstown's 65 total digs.

Brooke Pelloni set the tone with a match-opening kill that sparked a 7-0 run. That lead quickly blossomed into a 19-6 advantage after a 5-0 spurt was capped off by back-to-back Cal errors. A kill apiece from Pinske and Beaz brought the first set to a close.

The Vulcans bounced back to tie the second set at 7-7, but the Mountain Cats responded by scoring six of the next nine points to go up 13-10. But the game-changing sequence came a bit later when Lippincott and Dannika Susko combined for five kills that were part of a 6-0 run that put Pitt-Johnstown in front 23-13.

The last set was by far the most competitive, but the more explosive offense won out down the stretch. An attack error reduced Pitt-Johnstown's lead to two at 21-19. Lippincott and Pelloni fired down back-to-back kills to bring the Mountain Cats within one at 24-20. Pinske cleaned it up the match with her eighth kill of the day.

Sarah Stephenson collected a team-high seven kills to pace the Vulcans, who fell to 6-9 (1-7 PSAC).

The Mountain Cats visit Seton Hill on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.