CALIFORNIA (Sept. 29) – Playing their first home match in nearly three weeks, the Vulcans earned a 3-0 win (25-23, 25-20, 25-22) over Kutztown in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play at the Convocation Center on Friday night.

With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team improves to 9-5 this season with a 3-0 mark in league action. Meanwhile, Kutztown falls to 5-10 overall behind a 0-3 record in conference play.

The Vulcans featured a balanced offensive attack with four players collecting at least nine kills. Junior Lois van Schaik (Naarden, Netherlands/St. Vituscollege) registered 12 kills on a .269 hitting percentage, while junior Tina Bellhy (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) and sophomore Rachel Priore (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) both finished with 10 kills against the Golden Bears. Senior Ashley Leto (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) added nine kills in the sweep and fellow senior Taylor Solo (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) directed the offense with 34 assists on Friday.

Freshman Jensen Silbaugh (Warren, Ohio/Lakeview) paced the defensive effort with 15 digs. Leto collected 14 digs versus Kutztown, while Priore and Solo registered double-doubles after both tallied 12 digs.

Cal U posted 17 kills on a .204 hitting percentage in the opening set to earn a 25-23 victory. The Vulcans won three of four points to take a 7-5 lead on back-to-back kills by Priore before the Golden Bears rallied for three-straight points to take an 8-7 lead. Cal U later answered with three-consecutive points to take an 11-9 lead following consecutive kills by van Schaik. Kutztown then won four-straight points to take a 13-11 lead and forced Cal U to call a timeout. The Vulcans responded with a 10-3 run to take a 21-16 lead before the Golden Bears worked the deficit down to 22-20. Cal U countered with back-to-back kills before staving off three-straight points to earn the win on a kill by Leto, 25-23.

The Vulcans held the lead for the entire second set while taking a 2-0 match lead with a 25-20 win. Cal U won the opening four points and built a 7-2 lead before Kutztown called a timeout. The Golden Bears then won five of seven points to trim the deficit to 9-7 before the teams traded the next six points. The Vulcans rallied off four-consecutive points to take a 16-10 lead on back-to-back kills by junior Emily Bucklin (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville). Following a timeout, the Golden Bears won four-straight points before the Vulcans answered with four-unanswered points to take a 20-14 lead on a kill by van Schaik. Kutztown worked the deficit down to 24-20 before Solo closed the set with a kill, 25-20.

Cal U completed the match victory with a 25-20 win in the third set after the teams combined for five lead changes and 10 ties. The Vulcans won six of eight points early in the set to take a 9-7 lead on an attacking error before the Golden Bears countered with five-straight points to take a 12-9 advantage. Cal U later won four of five points to reclaim the lead at 17-16 on another attacking error. The teams traded the next four points before the Golden Bears took a 22-21 lead by winning four of five points. Cal U then responded with four-straight points to earn the 25-22 victory on back-to-back kills by Bellhy.

The Vulcans continue their weekend homestand tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 30, when they face East Stroudsburg in the Convocation Center at 1 p.m.