WHEELING, W.Va. (Nov. 20) – The third-seeded Vulcans advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 3-1 victory (19-25, 25-14, 25-14, 25-20) over sixth-seeded Mercyhurst on Thursday afternoon at the Alma Grace McDonough Center.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team improves to 29-8 overall. The Vulcans will now face second-seeded Clarion tomorrow evening, Friday, Nov. 21, at 5 p.m. The Golden Eagles advanced on Thursday by earning a 3-0 win (25-16, 25-10, 25-22) over Edinboro. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst finishes the season with an 18-13 mark after making its fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last seven years.

Senior Laurel Miller (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) registered a match-high 16 kills, including eight in the second set, and finished with 10 digs her 19th kill/dig double-double of the year. Junior Mary Lavery (La Plata, Md./La Plata) posted 11 kills on a .348 hitting percentage, while classmate Miranda Fouzie (Kingston, Ontario/Sydenham) collected seven kills while hitting at a .250 clip. Freshman Ashley Leto (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) and junior Danielle Hayes (Erie, Pa./McDowell) both added six kills in the victory. Sophomore Megan Litoborski (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) guided the offense on Thursday with 40 assists and totaled seven digs and two blocks.

Senior libero Samantha Rudy (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) paced four players with double-digit digs, recording a match-high 20 digs. Leto posted 14 digs and the tandem of Miller and senior Taylor Melidona (Rochester, N.Y./Irondequoit) each added 10 digs. Fouzie controlled the net with eight blocks with Miller adding three blocks and four service aces.

In the first set, the Vulcans were held to a .000 hitting percentage after totaling nine kills and nine attacking errors on 35 attempts. Mercyhurst claimed the opening point of the set before Cal U won four of six points to take a 4-3 lead on a kill by Miller. The Lakers answered with a 7-3 run to reclaim the lead at 10-7 before the Vulcans won three of four points to take an 11-10 lead on an attacking error. Mercyhurst responded with four-straight points to take a 15-10 lead before the teams traded the next four points. Each team then won three-unanswered points before Cal U called a timeout trailing 20-15. The Vulcans later won back-to-back points before the Lakers closed the set by earning three of the last four points to post a 25-19 victory.

Cal U held the lead the entire second set behind a .290 team hitting percentage and eight kills by Miller. The Vulcans won the initial three points of the set before the Lakers called a timeout and the teams then traded the next four points. Cal U won six-unanswered points to stretch its lead to 11-2 on a block assist by Fouzie and Lavery before Mercyhurst called another timeout. The teams then traded runs of three-consecutive points before the Lakers went on a 5-2 run to cut the deficit to 16-10. Cal U quickly regained control by mounting an 8-1 run to take a sizeable 24-11 lead on an attacking error. The Lakers staved off set point three times before the Vulcans earned a 25-14 win on a kill by Miller.

The Vulcans maintained the lead for the entire third set behind a balanced offensive effort, as five players collected at least two kills. Cal U won the opening nine points of the set before the teams started trading points and Mercyhurst eventually cut the lead in half at 14-7. The Vulcans countered with three-straight points before the Lakers won four of six points to trim the deficit to 19-11.  Cal U again earned three-consecutive points to take a 22-11 lead on kill by Lavery before Mercyhurst won three of the next four points. The Vulcans finished with a 25-14 win after back-to-back attacking errors by the Lakers.

In the fourth set, the Vulcans jumped out to a 6-2 lead on an attacking error before the Lakers won five of the next eight points to trim the deficit to 9-7. Cal U answered by winning five-straight points to take a 14-7 lead on a kill by Leto and forced Mercyhurst to use a timeout. The Lakers countered with a 10-3 run to tie the score at 17-17 before the Vulcans won back-to-back points to regain the lead at 19-17 on a block assist by Fouzie and Lavery. Cal U later won five of six points to force match point at 24-19 on a kill by Hayes. The Vulcans completed the match victory with a 25-20 win on a service error.

Cal U will face Clarion tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 21, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Vulcans have won two of the three meetings agianst the Golden Eagles this season with each team winning on the road. Cal U has advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament in each of the last nine years and holds a 27-13 all-time record in the tournament.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 20
Match 1 - (3) California (Pa.) d. (6) Mercyhurst, 3-1 (19-25, 25-14, 25-14, 25-20)
Match 2 - (2) Clarion d. (7) Edinboro, 3-0 (25-16, 25-10, 25-22)
Match 3 - (4) Seton Hill d. (3) Gannon, 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-13, 27-25)
Match 4 - (1) Wheeling Jesuit d. (8) Chowan, 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-10)

Friday, Nov. 21
Match 5 - (3) California (Pa.) vs. Winner of Match 2, 5 p.m.
Match 6 - (4) Seton Hill at (1) Wheeling Jesuit, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 22
Match 7 - Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6, 7 p.m.