Ellie Zuro Cirino piled up 16 kills and Kiara Harmon added 12 more without an attack error, but the Pitt-Johnstown women's volleyball team dropped a 3-1, PSAC West decision to Gannon on Friday night at the Highmark Events Center in Erie. Set scores were 25-15, 20-25, 20-25, 21-25.
The Mountain Cats (9-6, 3-3 PSAC) outhit the Golden Knights (15-3, 5-1 PSAC) .254 to .234 and finished with a 9-5 edge in blocks. Pitt-Johnstown won the opening set decisively before Gannon took control in the middle two frames.
Pitt-Johnstown opened the match on a strong note, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and hitting .323 in the first set. Gannon hit just .031 with seven attack errors. After the teams were tied at 14-14, the Mountain Cats outscored Gannon 11-1 down the stretch, with Zuro Cirino delivering four straight kills late to help close the frame on a 6-0 run, 25-15.
Gannon rebounded in the second set, hitting .263 while Pitt-Johnstown managed .129. Trailing 21-14, the Mountain Cats got back within three at 23-20, with Harmon and Alanna Rivera teaming up on a block during the push. Gannon ended the rally with the 25-20 win to tie the match.
The Mountain Cats trailed by as many as five in the third set, but they pulled even at 16-16 on a Zuro Cirino kill and again at 17-17. Gannon then pulled away down the stretch to win 25-20 and take a 2-1 lead. Gannon hit .333 in the set to Pitt-Johnstown's .258.
Pitt-Johnstown played its cleanest set of the match in the fourth, hitting .310 with only two errors. The set was tight throughout, but Gannon's .323 clip was enough to close it out, 25-21.
Zuro Cirino led all Pitt-Johnstown hitters with 16 kills (.275) and added eight digs. Harmon's 12 kills came on 15 swings, a .800 hitting percentage, and she also led the team with five blocks. Kamila Rodriguez Velez chipped in seven kills (.429), and Journey Welling posted three blocks and three kills while playing in three sets.
Arielis Valle Villegas dished out 21 assists, and Abigail Berry added 15. Defensively, Avery Koontz led the way with 12 digs, and Caroline Knight picked up 10 digs, two aces and six kills.
Gannon was led by Abbey Williams, who finished with 21 kills. Sydney Wake added 12, Nehir Yazicioglu had 11, and setter Ava Gainer had 42 assists. Alexis Fowler led all players with 17 digs.
Pitt-Johnstown remains on the road Saturday for a PSAC match at Edinboro, before returning home next Friday to host a conference match against California (Pa.) at 6 p.m. at the Sports Center.
