GREENSBURG, Pa. — The Pitt-Johnstown volleyball team fought Seton Hill to the wire Friday night before falling in a five-set heartbreaker, 20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-15, 13-15, at the McKenna Center.
Despite bouncing back to even the match on two separate occasions, the Mountain Cats slipped to 8-5 (2-2 PSAC). The Griffins moved to 8-6 (1-3 PSAC).
Ellie Zuro Cirino recorded a team-high 16 kills and added two aces. Caroline Knight provided 13 kills, nine digs, five blocks and two aces. Kiara Harmon supplied 10 kills.
Pitt-Johnstown bounded out to a 3-0 lead in the final set behind a kill and an ace courtesy of Zuro Cirino. That lead swelled to as many as seven when Zuro Cirino detonated a ball to make it 11-4.
Seton Hill responded with a 10-1 run to go up 14-12. A service error brought Pitt-Johnstown to within one, but Seton Hill ended the match with a kill.
The Mountain Cats applied enough pressure to secure a decisive fourth set win. Down 6-5 early, a 9-2 run that began with a Zuro Cirino kill gave them a 14-8 advantage that never faded away. A 6-0 run later in the set extended the lead to as many as 12 at 23-11.
Following a tight first set loss, Pitt-Johnstown received three kills from Alanna Rivera to go up 5-2 to start the second frame. Up 13-12, Knight sparked a 7-2 flurry that gave Pitt-Johnstown a 20-14 cushion that helped the Mountain Cats tie the match at 1-all.
Dannika Susko racked up a match-high nine blocks. Abigail Berry dished out a team-high 30 assists to pair with eight digs, while Arielis Valle Villegas chipped in 23 assists. Avery Koontz contributed a match-high 27 digs.
Pitt-Johnstown will host IUP at 12 p.m. Saturday in the Sports Center in another PSAC West matchup.
