SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — Junior outside hitter Caroline Knight hammered out a career-high 19 kills to help Pitt-Johnstown secure a 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 24-26, 25-15) victory over Slippery Rock on Friday night at Morrow Field House.
The Mountain Cats climbed to 15-8 (6-5 PSAC) on the year and moved one step closer to locking up a spot in the conference tournament with three regular-season matches remaining.
Ellie Zuro Cirino contributed 16 kills and 13 digs. Dannika Susko supplied an efficient season-high 13 kills on just 18 total attempts. Mallory Pinske pitched in with four kills, nine digs, three service aces and a match-high five blocks.
Abby Berry distributed a match-high 44 assists, while Jessica Krug tallied a team-high 22 digs.
Knight, who also provided 10 digs and three blocks, has recorded at least 12 kills in four straight matches and seven out of the last eight dating back to Oct. 10. She had seven kills in the opening set, and the Mountain Cats needed every one of them to pull out a victory.
After navigating four lead changes, the Mountain Cats capitalized off a service error to take a late 23-22 lead. Zuro detonated on a ball before an attack error gave the Mountain Cats a 1-0 edge.
Pitt-Johnstown went on a 5-0 run to grab a 10-7 lead in the early stages of the second set. It marked the third of six lead changes that defined a set that saw the Mountain Cats score six of the final seven points. All of those points came courtesy of a defensive effort that forced five attack errors down the stretch.
Pitt-Johnstown narrowly dropped the third set with a chance to sweep, but regrouped quickly in the fourth frame.
After jumping out to an 11-6 lead thanks in large part to three kills from Knight, the Mountain Cats notched six of the next eight to construct a commanding 17-8 advantage that was never in danger of fading away. Three straight attack errors helped Pitt-Johnstown secure its second win over The Rock this season. Slippery Rock, which received 19 kills and 16 digs from Callie Chevalier, dropped to 9-15 (2-9 PSAC).
Pitt-Johnstown will visit Clarion at 1 p.m. on Saturday in its penultimate road match of the regular-season.
