Pitt-Johnstown could not climb back late in a heartbreaking five-set loss (23-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20, 11-15) to Seton Hill on Friday night at the McKenna Center.

The Mountain Cats slipped to 15-10 (6-7 PSAC) but are still in contention for a berth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament that opens up on Nov. 18 with quarterfinal matches.

Ellie Zuro Cirino recorded a match-high 17 kills to pair with 15 digs. It was the 11th time she notched at least 17 kills in a match this season. Dannika Susko contributed a season-high 14 kills, marking her fourth double-digit kill effort of the year. Caroline Knight added 11 kills and a team-high four service aces, while Natalie Lippincott pitched in 11 kills and three blocks.

Abby Berry passed out a career-high 51 assists, and Jessica Krug supplied a team-high 18 digs.

Pitt-Johnstown never led in the final set after being in a 5-0 hole to start. It was 9-2 before the Mountain Cats called a timeout and then scored five of the next seven points to crawl to within 11-7. Zuro detonated on a ball to cut the deficit to 14-11 late, but Seton Hill's Catie Flohr closed it out.

After dropping the first set, the Mountain Cats swung the momentum in their favor near the midway point of the second set. Trailing 16-13, Lippincott hammered a kill to begin a critical 4-0 run to take the lead. Tied at 18-all, Pitt-Johnstown then scored seven of the final eight points with the help of two kills apiece from Zuro and Susko to even the match.

Facing a 2-1 deficit, the Mountain Cats responded in the fourth frame by jumping out to a 5-1 advantage that never faded away. When the Griffins climbed back to within 17-15, Pitt-Johnstown staged a 3-0 flurry capped by a kill from Knight.

Susko and Berry each had a kill to extend the match into a fifth set.

Pitt-Johnstown, which currently sits in a virtual three-way tie for fourth place in the Western Division, will conclude the regular-season when it hosts California (Pa.) at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the Sports Center.