CALIFORNIA (Oct. 29) – Senior Danielle Hayes (Erie, Pa./McDowell) reached the 1,000 career kill milestone on Saturday afternoon, as the California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team suffered a 3-2 loss (16-25, 19-25, 25-14, 25-16, 12-15) in crossover play against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Central-leading Pitt-Johnstown at the Convocation Center.

With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 17-7 overall with a 9-4 record in league action. Meanwhile, the Lady Cats improve to 18-7 this season behind an 11-2 mark in conference play.

Hayes led the team with 20 kills behind a .314 hitting percentage on Saturday, becoming the 11th player in school history to reach 1,000 kills in a career. She is the first player to reach the mark since Laurel Miller (2011-14) accomplished the feat. Hayes paces the PSAC with 350 kills after previously never totaling at least 300 kills in a year.

Sophomore Seairra Barrett (Center Twp., Pa./Central Valley) posted 10 kills while hitting at a .408 clip and classmate Lois van Schaik (Naarden, Netherlands/St. Vituscollege) tallied eight kills. Junior Ashley Leto (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) recorded eight kills and sophomore Tina Bellhy (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) added seven kills. Senior Megan Litoborski (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) guided the offense with 42 assists against the Lady Cats.

Sophomore Bayleana Sowers (Mt. Wolf, Pa./Northeastern) paced the team with 23 digs, while Hayes and Leto added 17 and 14 digs, respectively. Litoborski tallied 13 digs and junior Taylor Solo (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) collected 12 digs in the loss. Barrett controlled the net with eight blocks and the trio of Bellhy, van Schaik and Litoborski each recorded four blocks. Sowers added three service aces against UPJ.

In the first set, the Lady Cats raced to a 12-4 lead before the Vulcans won five of the next eight points to trim the deficit to 15-9. UPJ went on a 6-1 run to extend its lead to 21-10 before a kill by Barrett led to a 3-1 run by Cal U to cut the deficit to 22-13. A service error gave the Lady Cats a 23-13 lead before the Vulcans won three of the next four points to trim the score to 24-16. The Lady Cats won the next point to claim the set at 25-16.

UPJ won the second set behind a .450 hitting percentage. The two teams traded points to even the score at 5-5 before the Lady Cats won four of the next five points to hold a 9-6 advantage. Cal U responded with a 7-3 run to take a 13-12 lead before UPJ took seven of the next eight points to take a 19-14 lead. The Vulcans won three of the next four points to trim the lead to 20-17. UPJ then claimed five of the last seven points in the set to earn a 25-19 victory.

The Vulcans jumped out to a 5-2 lead early in the third set before the Lady Cats earned one point. Cal U responded with a 10-2 run to extend the lead to 15-5 on a ball handling error. The Lady Cats won four of the next six points to trim the deficit to 17-9 before the teams then traded runs of consecutive points to give the Vulcans a 19-11 lead. Cal U took six of the final nine points in the set to claim a 25-14 victory on a kill by Barrett.

Cal U took the fourth set behind a .371 hitting percentage while committing only one attacking error on 35 attempts. After UPJ took an early 2-0 lead, Cal U won five of the next six points to hold a 5-3 advantage. The Lady Cats scored two-unanswered points to even the score at 5-5. Cal U responded by winning seven-straight points to take a 13-5 advantage on a kill by Leto. An attacking error made the score 13-6 before Cal U went on a 6-1 rally to extend the lead to 19-7 following a kill by Bellhy. The Lady Cats won six of the next seven points to trim the lead to 20-13 and the Vulcans responded by claiming five of the final eight points to win the fourth set, 25-16.

In the decisive fifth set, the Lady Cats raced out to a 7-1 lead before the Vulcans won four of the next five points to cut the lead to 8-5. UPJ went on a 4-1 run to extend the lead to 12-6. Following a timeout, the Vulcans scored four-unanswered points to pull within 12-10 on an attacking error. The teams traded 2-0 runs to make the score 14-12 before UPJ won the final point to earn a 15-12 win.

Cal U is idle for nearly a week before traveling to face Millersville in PSAC Crossover play on Friday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m.