Pitt-Johnstown could never quite crack a tenacious Indiana (PA) defense and was downed in straight sets, 22-25, 16-25, 17-25, in an NCAA Atlantic Region Quarterfinal on Thursday night at Gannon University's Highmark Events Center.

The Mountain Cats concluded the 2023 campaign with a 19-12 overall record. They went 9-7 within the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and 19-9 against Division II opponents to notch the program's fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and the first since 2017.

While the fifth-ranked Mountain Cats did not go away quietly, the Crimson Hawks, who led the nation in total blocks during the regular-season, made it difficult to sustain rallies.

Brooke Pelloni had a team-high five kills for the Mountain Cats. Natalie Lippincott and Lualis Alvarado each registered four kills. Mallory Pinske and Journey Welling had three kills apiece. Adiamar Beaz dished out 18 assists and seven digs, and Gabi DeRenzo tallied a match-high 11 digs.

The best chance Pitt-Johnstown had to take a set nearly came in comeback fashion. A service error put the Mountain Cats in a 20-13 deficit in the opening set, but an 8-3 run that was capped off by a Pinske kill and ace trimmed it to 23-21.

The fourth-seeded Crimson Hawks went up 1-0 courtesy of two kills from Stefania Anagnostou.

An 11-4 rally by IUP in the second set placed Pitt-Johnstown in a 22-13 hole that proved to be too much to overcome.

A pair of aces from Alvarado helped provide a 4-0 lead to begin the third set. Pelloni later made it 8-4 with a kill. 

The Crimson Hawks crawled back, but back-to-back miscues allowed the Mountain Cats to tie the third set at 16-all. However, IUP abruptly ended the match on a 9-1 run that was spearheaded by its defense.

Lauren Valentic racked up a game-high 10 kills, while Anagnostou added nine for the Crimson Hawks (22-10), who will face off with top-seeded Gannon in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

The Mountain Cats lose two seniors to graduation in defensive specialist Lexi Pendergraft and middle hitter Katelyn Courtney.