Pitt-Johnstown dropped the opening set but stormed back to win three straight, defeating Lock Haven 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-18) in the second round of the D'Youville Tournament on Friday at the Saints Center Gym. The Mountain Cats improve to 1-1 on the young season.
Caroline Knight paced the Pitt-Johnstown attack with a match-high 11 kills to go with 11 digs, while Ellie Zuro Cirino was right behind her with 10 kills and a team-high 11 digs of her own. Kiara Harmon turned in a well-rounded effort with 9 kills, a team-high 7 block assists and 2 block errors offset, while Kamila Rodriguez Velez provided a lift off the bench with 9 kills on just 19 attempts for a sizzling .421 hitting percentage.
Setter Arielis Valle Villegas orchestrated the offense with a team-high 21 assists and added 12 digs, while Abby Berry chipped in 20 assists and led all players with 5 aces. Avery Koontz anchored the back row defensively with 12 digs, and Brooke Pelloni and Dannika Susko each finished with 7 and 6 block assists, respectively, giving the Mountain Cats a stout net presence throughout.
Pitt-Johnstown out-hit Lock Haven .191 to .105 for the match and held sizable edges across the stat sheet, out-blocking the Eagles 14-4 and out-digging them 75-59. The Mountain Cats also finished with 46 team assists to Lock Haven's 34 and edged the Eagles in aces, 9-6, translating their all-around balance into a 72-49 advantage in total points.
Lock Haven grabbed the first set 25-22, riding a mid-set run keyed by Gracelynn Wolzen and Natalie Gibson to seize control early and hold off a late Pitt-Johnstown push.
The Mountain Cats flipped the script in the second set, using a 6-0 burst from 10-8 to 16-10 — capped by back-to-back kills from Zuro Cirino — to take firm control and even the match
Pitt-Johnstown carried that momentum into the third set, answering every Lock Haven run down the stretch and closing it out on a Kamila Rodriguez Velez kill for a 25-19 win. The Mountain Cats never trailed by more than a point in the fourth set, methodically building separation behind their block and putting the match away 25-18 to close out the round.
Lock Haven was led by Madelyn Mitchell's 9 kills and Reagan Irons' 8 kills, while setter Natalie Gibson piled up 31 assists to run the Eagles' offense. Olivia Taylor paced Lock Haven defensively with a match-high 22 digs. The Eagles fall to 1-2 on the season.
Pitt-Johnstown continues D'Youville Tournament play Saturday in Buffalo, facing host D'Youville University at noon before closing out the weekend against Kutztown University at 4 p.m.
Â
