Junior Caroline Knight exploded for 15 kills for the second straight match to help Pitt-Johnstown secure a dominant 3-1 victory, 25-14, 16-25, 25-13, 25-19, over Seton Hill on Saturday afternoon at the Sports Center.
The Mountain Cats outhit the Griffins 47-42 and improved to 12-5 (3-2 PSAC).Â
Ellie Zuro Cirino pitched in 11 kills, 12 digs and a pair of aces. It was her 13th match of the season with at least 10 kills. Dannika Susko provided eight kills. Abby Berry dished out a match-high 43 assists, while Jessica Krug contributed a match-high 24 digs.
Journey Welling recorded seven kills, but had an even greater impact on the defensive side with a match-high 11 blocks that helped the Mountain Cats rack up a 16-4 advantage in that category.
Leading 6-3, the opening set was decided when the Mountain Cats ripped off seven straight points, headlined by two service aces from Zuro, to go up by 10. Zuro later put the finishing touches on a 5-0 run that made it 24-11.
After dropping the second set, Pitt-Johnstown rebounded in set three. The Mountain Cats trailed 7-5 before going on a 9-0 spurt aided by two kills from Welling that put them up for good.
When their lead was eventually cut to 17-13, Knight and Susko each supplied three kills during an 8-0 run that gave Pitt-Johnstown a 2-1 edge.
While the Mountain Cats never trailed in the final set, they could not pull away despite taking an initial 7-2 lead. Pitt-Johnstown held a 15-14 advantage before locking in defensively to force five attack errors to go on top 22-15. An attack error and two kills from Zuro helped polish off the match.
Seton Hill received a team-high 15 kills from Catie Flohr but dropped to 9-7 (3-3 PSAC).
Pitt-Johnstown will host Clarion at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17 in the Sports Center.
