KUTZTOWN, Pa. (Oct. 1) – Behind 16 kills from sophomore Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley), the California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team claimed a 3-0 victory (25-22, 25-18, 25-16) at Kutztown on Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover action.

With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 12-3 overall and remain undefeated in conference play at 4-0, all in four sets or less. Meanwhile, Kutztown falls to 3-12 this season and drop to 0-4 in league action.

Barrett led the team with 16 kills on a .500 hitting percentage against the Golden Bears. Junior Ashley Leto (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) and senior Danielle Hayes (Erie, Pa./McDowell) each added 10 kills, while sophomore Emily Bucklin (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) tallied eight kills in the victory. Senior Megan Litoborski (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) directed the offense with 42 assists and added nine digs in the victory.

Sophomore Bayleana Sowers (Mt. Wolf, Pa./Northeastern) paced the defense with 12 digs and junior Emily Berry (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) added nine digs on Saturday afternoon. Hayes and Leto added nine and eight digs, respectively in the win and Hayes also recorded four service aces and two blocks.

Kutztown opened the match on a 3-1 run before Cal U won five-unanswered points to take a 6-3 advantage on back-to-back service aces by Sowers. The Golden Bears then went on a 6-1 run to gain a 9-7 advantage before the Vulcans tied the set at 9-9 on a service ace from Hayes. Cal U took a 14-12 lead after claiming five of the next eight points and forced a Kutztown timeout. The Golden Bears answered by winning five of the next six points to take a 17-15 advantage. Cal U tied the match at 17-17 on a kill from Hayes before the teams traded points until the score was 20-20. Cal U won five of the last seven points to earn a 25-22 victory on a service ace from Leto.

In the second set, Leto recorded three-straight kills to give the Vulcans a 3-0 lead. The Golden Bears scored four of the next five points to even the score at 4-4. Cal U then went on a 5-1 run to regain the lead at 9-5 and after a ball handling error the Vulcans took four of five points to extend their lead to 13-7. The Golden Bears went on a 3-1 run to cut the deficit to 14-10 before the Vulcans answered with a 4-1 run to take an 18-11 lead. Kutztown then took four of the next six points to trim the lead to 20-15. The teams traded points until the Vulcans held a 23-18 lead and Cal U closed the set with back-to-back kills from Barrett and Hayes to record a 25-18 win.

Cal U completed the match sweep behind a .406 hitting percentage in the third set. The Vulcans began the set on a 4-2 run before the Golden Bears took three of the next five points to trim the deficit to 6-5. Cal U won two of the next three points to extend the lead to 8-6 before the two teams traded back-to-back 3-0 runs and the Vulcans held an 11-9 advantage. Cal U extended its lead to 17-11 by taking six of the eight points. Kutztown scored back-to-back points before Cal U went on a 6-1 run to take a 23-14 lead. The Vulcans ended the match on a kill by Barrett to earn a 25-16 victory.

The Vulcans return to action on Friday, Oct. 7, when they host Edinboro, a member of the PSAC Northwest Division, at 7 p.m.