Box Score Pitt-Johnstown charged back from a 9-1 fifth set deficit to secure a 17-15 win and lock up a 3-2 victory over Seton Hill in Friday evening's PSAC West and home-opener in the Sports Center.  Lualis Alvarado's 15 kills led three Mountain Cats who finished in double figures to help Pitt-Johnstown improve to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in conference-play.
 
Seton Hill took the opening set, 26-24, and Pitt-Johnstown took the next two sets 25-21 and 25-14.  A 25-14 Griffins' victory in the fourth set forced the fifth and final set.
 
After a Catie Flohr kill early in the first set gave Seton Hill a three-point lead, Pitt-Johnstown answered with a 13-3 run to build and eight-point advantage.  Five straight points, including a block from Brook Pelloni and Mallory Pinske, put the Mountain Cats back on top, before Alvarado's kill finished the run and made it 19-11.  The Griffins countered with a 12-3 run to retake the lead, 23-22, on a pair of Pitt-Johnstown attack errors, before Florh's service ace gave Seton Hill the 26-24 win.
 
In the second set, Pinske's kill gave the Mountain Cats a 9-5 lead, but Seton Hill battled back to go in front, 18-17, on Payton Rodberg's kill.  However, Pitt-Johnstown responded with eight straight points on Jessica Krug's serve to even the match one-set apiece with a 25-18 victory behind a pair of aces from Krug and three straight Griffins' errors.
 
Pitt-Johnstown held the momentum to begin the third set and used Alvarado's kill and a ace from Pinske to jump out to an 11-6 lead.  The Griffins scored the next three to narrow it to 11-9, but the Mountain Cats maintained at least a two-point advantage the rest of the way.  Leading 19-17 late in the set, Pitt-Johnstown finished strong and went on to the 25-21 win with kills from Natalie Lippincott and Pelloni.
 
Seton Hill scored the first three points of the fourth set and never trailed.  The Mountain Cats cut it to 9-8, but the Griffins got hot and closed out the 25-14 win with a 16-6 run to force a fifth set.
 
In the race to 15, the Griffins stormed out to a 9-1 lead, but Pitt-Johnstown responded.  The Mountain Cats came back to outscore Seton Hill, 16-6, to close out the match.  Pitt-Johnstown got a kill from Pinske to knot it at 15, before a pair of attack errors from the Griffins gave the Mountain Cats the 17-15 win.
 
Alvarado had 15 kills, 10 digs, four block assists, and a pair of aces, while Pinske tallied 14 kills and two aces, and Lippincott chipped-in a dozen kills to lead the Mountain Cat offensive attack.  Pelloni also added five kills in the win.
 
Adiamar Beaz finished with a match-high44 set assists and tied Gabi DeRenzo for match-high in digs with 15.  Pitt-Johnstown also got two aces and 14 digs from Krug.
 
Flohr's 15 kills for Seton Hill tied Alvarado for match high, while her seven solo blocks were a match best.
 
With the loss, the Griffins fell to 6-8 overall and 0-2 in the PSAC West.
 
Pitt-Johnstown begins a stretch of six straight road matches starting with a PSAC West match at Edinboro on Saturday.  The Mountain Cats return home to host conference matches against Slippery Rock on Oct. 13 and California (PA) on Oct. 14.