CALIFORNIA (Nov. 14) – The California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team clinched its 11th-consecutive berth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament after rallying past Edinboro, the top team in the PSAC West, with a 3-2 win (20-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16, 15-12) on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.

With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 16-16 overall behind a 14-8 mark in conference action. Cal U ended the regular season on an eight-match winning streak and clinched the fourth seed from the PSAC West. Meanwhile, the Fighting Scots fall to 30-5 on the year behind an 18-4 league record. The two teams will play again in the first round of the PSAC Tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 17, in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.

Senior Mary Lavery (La Plata, Md./La Plata) led the team with a career-high 22 kills and team-leading .317 hitting percentage, while also posting a season-high 22 points. Junior Danielle Hayes (Erie, Pa./McDowell) tallied 18 kills, while sophomore Ashley Leto (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) and senior Miranda Fouzie (Kingston, Ontario/Syndenham) both recorded seven kills. Junior Megan Litoborski (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) directed the offense with season-high 49 assists.

Defensively, junior Abby Matusik (Mars, Pa./Mars) led the team with a career-high 32 digs, while Lavery added another career high with 28 digs to register a kill/dig double-double. Leto also totaled 26 digs, while Hayes finished with 13 digs to also record a kill/dig double-double. Fouzie led the way on the net with three blocks, as Leto posted two blocks of her own. Fouzie also claimed sole possession of third place in school history with 447 career blocks.

In the first set, the two teams traded the opening seven points of the contest before Edinboro was able to rally for five-consecutive points to take a 9-3 lead. Cal U was able to break the rally and win three of the next four points to cut the lead to 10-6 before winning three-straight points to cut the lead to two points. The Fighting Scots responded by winning four of the next six points to increase their lead to 15-11. Edinboro then won three of five points to force a timeout from the home side. After the two teams traded points, the Vulcans rallied for five-straight points to cut the lead to 21-19. The Fighting Scots responded by winning four of the last five points to win the set 25-20.

The two teams traded the initial 15 points of the set with Edinboro taking an early 8-7 lead. The two teams traded the next four points before the Fighting Scots rallied for three-consecutive points to make the score 13-9. Cal U responded by winning four-straight points to tie the score at 13-13. The two sides traded points before the Vulcans took seven-consecutive points to take a 22-15 lead. Edinboro fought back to win five of the next seven points, but Cal U was able to win the set, 25-20.

In the third set, the Fighting Scots took an early 4-3 lead before the Vulcans rallied to win four-straight points to take a 7-4 lead. Edinboro quickly responded with a five-point rally of its own to take a 9-7 lead and went on take seven of the next 10 points, including another five-point rally to extend the lead to 16-10. Cal U fought back with four-consecutive points, which cut the lead to 17-15. The Fighting Scots won four of the next five points to take a 21-16 lead, as Cal U responded by winning five of the next six points to cut the deficit to 22-21. Edinboro was able to win three of the last five points to win the set 25-23.

After splitting the opening 12 points of the fourth set, the Vulcans won three of the next four points to take an early 9-7 lead before winning three of the next five points to extend the lead to 12-9. The teams split the next six points before both sides rallied for three-consecutive points to give Cal U a 20-15 lead. The Vulcans ended the set by taking five of the last six points to win the fourth set 25-16.

The fifth set began with Cal U winning the first three points to force a timeout by Edinboro. After the timeout, the Vulcans won five of the next nine points to take an 8-4 lead as the teams switched sides. The Fighting Scots rallied to take six of the next 10 points to cut the deficit to 12-10 causing a timeout by Cal U. The two teams split the next four points before an attacking error by the Fighting Scots gave the Vulcans the set at 15-12 to win the match.

The Vulcans open play in the PSAC Tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 17, when they travel to face Edinboro.