Pitt-Johnstown volleyball bounced back from a PSAC West loss to Clarion on Friday by sweeping Slippery Rock 3-0 on Saturday afternoon at the Sports Center, improving to 8-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play. Kiara Harmon paced the Mountain Cats with a 11 kills as Pitt-Johnstown took care of business in three sets, 25-18, 25-18, 25-22.
Harmon's 11 kills led all players on the afternoon, and she was far from alone in the attack. Caroline Knight and Ellie Zuro Cirino each chipped in 10 kills, giving Pitt-Johnstown three players in double figures as the Mountain Cats piled up 46 kills as a team.
Avery Koontz anchored the back row with 17 digs, while Knight added seven and Abby Berry chipped in six as Pitt-Johnstown controlled the defensive end throughout the match.
Arielis Valle Villegas ran the offense efficiently, racking up 21 assists to go along with two service aces. Berry supplied 12 assists of her own off the bench, and Avery Koontz added three.
At the net, Knight, Dannika Susko and Harmon each recorded two block assists to share the team lead, helping Pitt-Johnstown hold Slippery Rock's attack to a modest hitting percentage. Valle Villegas topped the service game with 
two aces, with Brooke Pelloni and Zuro Cirino each adding one.
The Mountain Cats controlled the statistical sheet from top to bottom, outpacing Slippery Rock 54-38.5 in total points, 46-32 in kills, 41-26 in assists and 37-29 in digs. Pitt-Johnstown also held the edge in aces, 4-1, while Slippery Rock had a slight advantage in team blocks, 5-4.
Pitt-Johnstown never trailed for long in the first set, building an early cushion behind kills from Harmon and Susko before pulling away down the stretch to close it out 25-18.
The Mountain Cats carried that momentum into the second set, jumping ahead early and fending off a mid-set push from Slippery Rock to take it by the same 25-18 score.
The third set proved the most competitive of the three, as the Rock hung around behind a string of kills from Ava Haynes and stayed within striking distance late, but Pitt-Johnstown closed the door with a service ace from Valle Villegas and a bad-set error by Slippery Rock to seal the 25-22 finish and the sweep.
Slippery Rock was led by Ava Haynes, who finished with a team-high 12 kills to go with nine digs. Marley Annis added six kills and Gwen McCarthy chipped in four as the Rock fell to 5-9 overall and 0-3 in PSAC play.
Pitt-Johnstown returns to PSAC West action on the road, traveling to Seton Hill on Friday, before returning home to host Indiana (PA) next Saturday.
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