The Pitt-Johnstown volleyball team pushed host Shepherd in every set on Friday evening, but the Rams edged out a 3-0 decision, 25-23, 25-14, 25-23, in the second round of the Shepherd Tournament at the Butcher Athletic Center. The Mountain Cats, who slipped to 6-3 on the season, were led by Caroline Knight, who paced Pitt-Johnstown with 10 kills.
Knight paced the Mountain Cats offensively, tallying a team-high 10 kills on .333 hitting while also chipping in two block assists and two digs for 11.0 points, the most of any player on either roster not named Emily Ryder. Kiara Harmon was right behind her with 8 kills and added a block assist and a block solo for 10.0 points, giving Pitt-Johnstown a strong one-two punch at the net. Ellie Zuro Cirino also factored into the attack with 7 kills and a block solo.
On the back row and in the setting corps, Avery Koontz led all players with 12 digs to anchor the Pitt-Johnstown defense, while Arielis Valle Villegas orchestrated the offense with 14 assists. Abigail Berry was steady running the second-ball attack as well, dishing out 13 assists while also serving up 3 aces, tied for the team lead in that category alongside Avery Barrett's 2.
Statistically, the match was close. Pitt-Johnstown finished with 30 kills to Shepherd's 33, and the Mountain Cats were within striking distance in points, 42 to 50. Shepherd held the edge in blocks, 11-7, and digs, 38-30, but Pitt-Johnstown's resilience kept every set within reach until the closing points.
The first set was a back-and-forth battle that saw Pitt-Johnstown trade the lead with the Rams deep into the frame, with the two sides tied as late as 22-22 before Shepherd closed it out 25-23.
The Mountain Cats struggled to find their footing in the second set, falling behind early and unable to recover as Shepherd pulled away for a 25-14 win.
Pitt-Johnstown responded with its best set of the night in the third, riding a strong service stretch from Avery Barrett that included back-to-back aces to build a 17-14 lead, before Shepherd rallied down the stretch to escape with a 25-23 victory and the sweep.
Shepherd was led by Emily Ryder, who recorded a match-high 11 kills, while Amya Davis added 8 kills on a sharp .350 hitting percentage and Ada McCoy chipped in 7 kills. Setter Maggie Smith orchestrated the Rams' attack with 30 assists, and Allison Wood paced the Shepherd defense with 8 digs. The win improved Shepherd to 9-1 overall on the season.
Pitt-Johnstown will look to bounce back when it opens PSAC West-play at California (PA) next Friday, before the Mountain Cats make their 2026 home debut with conference matches in the Sports Center against Clarion on Sept. 25 and Slippery Rock on Sept 26.
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