Ellie Zuro Cirino led the way with a match-high 16 kills and Caroline Knight added 14 as the Pitt-Johnstown women's volleyball team defeated California (PA), 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-12), in PSAC West action, Friday night at the Sports Center. The win lifts the Mountain Cats to 10-7 overall and 4-4 in the PSAC West.
Zuro Cirino hit .286 on 42 swings with just four errors, and also contributed six digs and two blocks. Knight added 14 kills and a match-high three service aces, finishing with a team-best 18.0 points. Kiara Harmon was the most efficient attacker on the floor, putting down eight kills without an error on 14 attempts for a .571 hitting percentage, and she tied for the team lead with three blocks.
Journey Welling also posted three blocks to go with six kills on a .500 hitting clip, while Alanna Rivera chipped in seven kills and Kamila Rodriguez Velez added four. Abigail Berry orchestrated the offense with 24 assists and seven digs, and Arielis Valle Villegas dished out 20 assists and added 12 digs. Avery Koontz anchored the back row with a match-high 19 digs.
As a team, Pitt-Johnstown out-hit California (PA), .267 to .233, while recording 56 kills to the Vulcans' 51. The Mountain Cats committed just 16 attack errors compared to 20 for California (PA) and held edges in assists (47-41) and service aces (3-2). Both teams finished with nine blocks, and the Mountain Cats' 55 digs trailed the Vulcans' 56 by just one.
California (PA) took a tight opening set, 25-22. Pitt-Johnstown ran out to a 4-0 lead, built a five-point advantage at 13-8 and held a 21-17 lead late before the Vulcans closed the set on an 8-1 run.
The Mountain Cats responded in the second set and evened the match with a 25-22 win. Pitt-Johnstown trailed 21-18 late, but a 7-1 closing run swung the set. Zuro Cirino delivered a kill to make it 24-22, and Valle Villegas finished it with a kill to set up the 1-1 tie. The Mountain Cats hit .209 in the set to California (PA)'s .095.
Set three was a back-and-forth battle that Pitt-Johnstown claimed, 25-23. The Mountain Cats jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but the Vulcans fought back to go ahead and led 21-18 and 22-20. Pitt-Johnstown answered with a 5-1 finish, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Zuro Cirino to move in front 24-22, and a Vulcans miscue sealed the set as the Mountain Cats hit .341 on 18 kills and four errors.
Pitt-Johnstown put the match away in the fourth set with its best performance of the night, rolling to a 25-12 win. The Mountain Cats recorded 14 kills against only one error for a .433 hitting percentage, built a 13-5 lead and never looked back, limiting California (PA) to a .125 hitting percentage and just eight kills.
California (PA) was led by Olivia Weiseman, who posted 12 kills and 12 digs along with two blocks and an ace. Abby Tucker added 11 kills and a team-high three blocks, and Madelyn Salisbury chipped in eight kills. Gracen Hartman dished out 18 assists and Molly Smiddy had 17, while Aubrey Bumblis led the Vulcans with 13 digs. California (PA) falls to 8-15 overall and 2-6 in the PSAC West.
Pitt-Johnstown hits the road next weekend for a pair of PSAC West matches, traveling to Slippery Rock on Friday at 6 p.m. before visiting Clarion on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 1 p.m.
