Mallory Pinske collected a team-high eight kills, but PSAC West-leading Gannon earned a 25-12, 25-16, 25-20 sweep over the Pitt-Johnstown volleyball team, Friday evening in the Sports Center. With the loss, the Mountain Cats slipped to 17-9 overall and 7-6 in conference-play.
After Pinske's kill gave Pitt-Johnstown an early 2-1advantage in the first set, but Gannon answered with a 17-4 run to take control. Six straight points, including a kill from Hailey Koch, put the Golden Knights on top 7-2, before Bengisu Arslan's service ace made it 18-6. The Mountain Cats used two more kills from Pinske to close the gap to 19-10, but Gannon went on to take the set, 25-12.
The Mountain Cats kept the second set close in the early going and used a combined block
Natalie Lippincott and
Journey Welling, and a solo block from
Brooke Pelloni to take a 6-4 lead. However, Gannon followed with a 16-4 run, capped by an Ali Sorenson/Journey Blevins block to build a 20-10 lead on its way to a 25-16 victory with a kill from Sydney Wake.
In the third set, Pitt-Johnstown broke a 9-all tie with three straight points, including kills by Welling and Lippincott, to go up by three. The Golden Knights responded to outscore the Mountain Cats, 8-1, to regain the lead on a Blevins kill. A 4-1 Pitt-Johnstown spurt tie it at 18 on
Adiamar Beaz's kill, but Gannon was able to score seven of the final nine points to close out the three-set sweep with a 25-20 win.
Along with her eight kills, Pinske also had a solo block and a block assist, while Lippincott had six kills and a block to pace the Mountain Cats.
Pitt-Johnstown also got four kills, a team-high 22 set assists and six digs from Beaz, four kills from PSAC West Athlete of the Week
Lualis Alvarado, and a team-high 13 digs from
Gabi DeRenzo.
Gannon, now winners of 12 straight matches, improved to 21-3 overall and 13-1 in the PSAC West behind 15 kills from Blevins and 13 kills apiece from Madde Blake and Koch.
Pitt-Johnstown will close out its 2023 home schedule and celebrate Senior Day on Saturday with a PSAC match against Mercyhurst at 1 p.m. in the Sports Center, before finishing the regular season with conference matches at California (PA) and Slippery Rock next weekend.