Lualis Alvarado collected a match-high 20 kills and Mallory Pinske added 12 kills to help the Pitt-Johnstown volleyball team charge back from a 2-0 deficit and force a fifth set, but Gannon was able to hold off the Mountain Cats, 16-14, in the final set to secure a PSAC Western Division victory, Saturday afternoon in the Sports Center.  Pitt-Johnstown slipped to 14-2 overall and 2-1 in conference-play.
 
The Golden Knights took the first two sets, 25-11 and 26-24, before the Mountain Cats stormed back with 25-17 and 25-19 wins to force the fifth and deciding set.
 
In a battle of two of the top teams in the PSAC West, Gannon got off to a hot start in the opening set and used a 9-1 run to extend a one-point lead to a 12-4 advantage on a Journey Blevins kill.  Pitt-Johnstown made it 14-7 on Alvarado's kill and a Golden Knight's attack error, but Gannon regain control and outscored the Mountain Cats, 11-4 down the stretch to take the set, 25-11.
 
Neither team was able to build a lead more than two in the second set, until Carissa Treser's kill put the Golden Knights on top 14-11.  Pitt-Johnstown kept it close and narrowed it to 18-17 on Jessica Krug's ace, and Gabriella DeRenzo's ace knotted it at 24 to force extra points.  However, kills by Treser and Blevins gave the Golden Knights the 26-24 win.
 
With their backs to the wall, the Mountain Cats answered with two straight wins.  DeRenzo's ace put the Mountain Cats up 11-4 in the third set, before Gannon came back with a 7-2 run to cut it to 13-11.  Pitt—Johnstown was able to regain control and doubled-up the Golden Knights, 12-6, to close out the 25-17 win on kills from Alvarado and Pinske.
 
Pitt-Johnstown kept the momentum and Pinske's kill, followed by a Gannon attack error gave Pitt-Johnstown a commanding 15-7 fourth set lead.  The Golden Knights tightened it to 15-12, but it never got any closer and Alvarado's kill gave the Mountain Cats the 25-19 win.
 
It looked good for the Mountain Cats in the final set.  Pitt-Johnstown used back-to-back aces from DeRenzo to build a 9-4 lead, then got a kill from Alvarado to extend it to 14-10.  That's when Gannon fought off four match-points to tie at 14, and got a kill from Hailey Koch and a block to run off six straight points and hold on for the 16-14 victory.
 
Along with her 20 kills, Alvarado had six digs and a pair of block assists, while Pinske added three block assists to her 12 kills to pace Pitt-Johnstown.  Natalie Lippincott had eight kills, three block assists, and six digs, and Dannika Susko tallied seven kills and four block assists.
 
Adiamar Beaz finished with 43 set assists, three aces, 17 digs, while DeRenzo had a match-high five aces and a team-high 28 digs for the Mountain Cats.  Krug also had six digs and three aces.
 
Blevins (15 kills), Koch (14 kills), Ali Sorenson (13 kills), and Lauren Atwell (13 kills) all finished with double figure kills for Gannon, now 11-5 overall and 4-0 in the PSAC West.
 
Pitt-Johnstown travels to PSAC West matches at Seton Hill on Friday and California (PA) next Saturday to begin a stretch of five consecutive road matches.  The Mountain Cats will play their next home match on Tuesday, Oct. 29 when Shippensburg visits the Sports Center.