The Pitt-Johnstown volleyball team opened the second day of play at the Frostburg State Tournament with a dominant three-set sweep of Shippensburg, winning by scores of 25-23, 25-17 and 25-19 on Saturday morning at Bobcat Arena. The Mountain Cats improve to 2-2 on the season, while the Raiders dropped to 4-2.
Caroline Knight paced the Mountain Cats offensively with 15 kills on a .394 hitting percentage, adding 13 digs and three block assists for another well-rounded performance at the net and on the back row. Kiara Harmon was nearly unstoppable in a limited number of swings, posting 11 kills on just 16 attempts for a blistering .625 attack percentage, along with a block solo and two block assists. Alanna Rivera chipped in eight kills at a .462 clip off the bench, while Dannika Susko anchored the block with a team-high five block assists.
Setter Arielis Valle Villegas ran the Pitt-Johnstown offense efficiently, finishing with 27 assists and eight digs, and Abigail Berry added 14 assists, three service aces and three digs in a strong all-around showing. Libero Avery Koontz led the back row with 12 digs, and Riley Lockhart contributed nine digs and two aces of her own.
Pitt-Johnstown controlled the statistical battle from start to finish, out-hitting Shippensburg .314 to .164 for the match and finishing with a 46-35 edge in kills. The Mountain Cats also won the service game 6 aces to 1, doubled up the Raiders at the net 8 blocks to 4, and out-dug Shippensburg 52-43 en route to a 60-40 advantage in total points.
The opening set was the tightest of the match, with the two sides trading points deep into the frame and Shippensburg holding a slim lead as late as 23-22. Pitt-Johnstown answered with back-to-back points, including a block from Knight and Harmon, before closing it out 25-23 on a Knight kill off a Valle Villegas set. The Mountain Cats carried that momentum into the second set, building an early cushion behind aces from Berry and Lockhart and cruising to a comfortable 25-17 win. Pitt-Johnstown never trailed in the third set, using kills from Knight and Rivera to open a 8-13 lead before closing out the sweep 25-19.
Shippensburg was led offensively by Hailey Cappleman, who recorded eight kills, while Natalya Montague and Clara Wildermuth each added six. Setter Jaiden Anderson dished out 20 assists to run the Raiders' attack, and Shay Kolivoski paced the defense with 12 digs and the team's only service ace.
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