Ellie Zuro Cirino and Caroline Knight combined for 36 kills to help the Pitt-Johnstown volleyball ream run its record to 10-3 with a four-set victory over East Stroudsburg, Friday evening in the Sports Center.
 
Piit-Johnstown took the opening set, 25-18, before the Warriors knotted the match with a 25-21 win.  However, the Mountain Cats wrapped it up with 25-19 and 25-27 wins.
 
After falling behind by four early in the opening set, Pitt-Johnstown charged back to outscore East Stroudsburg 20-9 to lock down a 25-18 win.  Allison Birtsil's kill gave the Warriors a 9-5 lead, before the Mountain Cats responded with a 6-0 run, capped by a Natalie Lippincott and a pair of attack errors to regain the lead by two.  Pitt-Johnstown never trailed again and wrapped up the set with five of the last six points.
 
In the second set, a kill from Dannika Susko and Knight's service ace put the mountain Cats on top, 10-6.  East Stroudsburg countered with a 12-4 run of its own to go up 18-14 on a Romina Martinez kill.  Zuro Cirino's kill got the Mountain Cats as close as two late in the set, but the Warriors were able to even the match with a 25-21 win on Kelly Crites' kill and a Pitt-Johnstown attack error.
 
East Stroudsburg held the momentum to begin the third set and opened-up an 8-4 advantage.  However, the Mountain Cats outscored the Warriors, 11-2, to retake the lead 15-10 on another kill from Zuro Cirino and Jessica Krug's ace. A combined block from Knight and Mallory Pinske pushed it out to seven at 20-13, and Pitt-Johnstown went on to a 25-19 victory.
 
In a tight fourth set, the Mountain Cats held an early three-point advantage, but East Stroudsburg came back to go up 19-16.  Pitt-Johnstown retook the lead 24-23 on Knight's kill, then got another kill from knight and a Liredys Casiano ace to close out the match with a 27-25 win.
 
Zuro Cirino led everyone with 20 kills and a .410 hitting percentage, and added 14 digs, and three block assists and an ace, while Knight had 16 kills, a dozen digs, and three block assists to pace Pitt-Johnstown.
 
Susko had nine kills and a match-high six block assists, six kills and three block assists, and five kills, one solo block, and four block assists from Pinske.
 
Abby Berry's finished with a match-high 38 set assists, two aces, and six digs, Krug chipped-in 19 digs, and a pair of aces.
 
East Stroudsburg, which slipped to 9-3, was led by Anna Coulter's 13 kills and Martinez's 11 kills.
 
The Mountain Cats travel to PSAC West matches at Edinboro next Friday, Gannon on Oct. 4, and California (PA) on Oct. 10, before returning home to host a conference match against Seton Hill on Oct. 11.  Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. in the Sports Center.