After a career-high 23 kills Friday evening at Slippery Rock, Ellie Zuro Cirino piled up 16 more kills for Pitt-Johnstown at Clarion on Saturday afternoon in Tippin Gymnasium, but the Mountain Cats suffered a 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 22-25, 21-25) PSAC West setback. The Mountain Cats are now 11-8 overall and 5-5 in the PSAC West, while Clarion improved to 16-6 overall and 8-2 in conference play.
Zuro Cirino also added a service ace, two block assists and eight digs for 18.0 points, the top total on the Pitt-Johnstown side. Caroline Knight was a force at both ends of the floor with 12 kills and a team-high 22 digs, while Alanna Rivera chipped in nine kills on a .263 hitting percentage and a solo block. Kiara Harmon anchored the front row with seven total blocks, one solo and six assists, and also added eight kills at a .261 clip. Kamila Rodriguez Velez delivered seven kills on a .286 attack percentage, and Journey Welling came off the bench to hit .333 with five kills on nine swings.
Setters Arielis Valle Villegas and Abigail Berry kept the offense humming, dishing out 26 and 25 assists, respectively, as Pitt-Johnstown finished with 57 assists. Valle Villegas also added nine digs. Avery Koontz was a defensive standout with 20 digs, and Anna Ritter led the serving game with three aces.
As a team, Pitt-Johnstown out-killed Clarion 57-54 and held a sizable edge in digs, 74-58. The Mountain Cats also finished with more assists, 57-51, and hit .226 for the match, just a hair behind Clarion's .229. Pitt-Johnstown hit .306 in the second set, its best mark of the afternoon. Clarion held advantages in aces (9-5) and team blocks (13-8).
Set one went to Clarion, but not before Pitt-Johnstown made a charge. Trailing 12-7, the Mountain Cats ripped off an 8-1 run, powered by kills from Zuro Cirino and Harmon to take a 15-13 lead. Clarion answered, using a Kayden McKinney kill and a Natalie Karrick service ace to spark a 3-0 run, and the hosts pulled away for a 25-22 win after Pitt-Johnstown trimmed the gap to 22-24. Taylor Haupt put away the set-clinching kill.
The Mountain Cats evened the match with a second-set comeback. After falling behind 5-2 early, as Cara Vandeborne served back-to-back aces for Clarion, they tied the set at 7-7 on a Riley Lockhart service ace, and later fell behind 21-18 when McKinney recorded consecutive kills. Pitt-Johnstown answered with a 5-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back aces from Ritter that tied the set at 21-21 and put the Mountain Cats ahead 22-21. A Zuro Cirino kill made it 23-21, and after Karrick's kill pulled Clarion within one, Pitt-Johnstown scored the final two points, with Zuro Cirino putting away the set-clinching kill for a 25-22 victory.
Pitt-Johnstown carried momentum into the third set and used a 5-0 run, with kills from Knight and Rivera, to build an 11-7 lead. Clarion fought back and the set was tied at 18 before kills from Raegan Stader, Karrick and Stader again fueled a 3-0 run that moved the hosts in front. The Mountain Cats trimmed the deficit to 22-24 before Emily Klopp and Finley Kearney combined on a block to close out a 25-22 win. In the fourth set, Pitt-Johnstown led 6-4 and again held a 12-11 edge midway through, but Clarion used a 5-0 run, aided by two Kearney kills and a Karrick ace, to take control. Marisa Markou had earlier served three straight aces to put the hosts in front, and Kearney's kill closed out the 25-21 win.
Clarion was led by Finley Kearney, who hit .440 with 13 kills and five blocks, and Emily Klopp, who hit .571 with 12 kills and four blocks.
Pitt-Johnstown will look to bounce back on Friday when it travels to Indiana (Pa.) for a 6 p.m. PSAC West match, before returning next Saturday to host a conference match against Seton Hill in the Sports Center at noon.
