JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (Oct. 25) – The California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team rallied to a 3-2 comeback victory (22-25, 25-21, 25-27, 25-19, 15-10) in a five-set thriller at Pitt-Johnstown on Friday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Southwest action.
 
With the win, the Vulcans improve to 10-8 overall with a 5-5 record in conference play. Cal U also now holds a 4-2 mark in five-set matches this season. Meanwhile, the Mountain Cats drop to 11-9 this season behind a 3-7 mark in league action.
 
Junior Madeleine McKenna (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) set a career high and paced the team with 14 kills on a .222 hitting percentage. Classmate Madison Kline (Hastings, Pa./Cambria Heights) also set a career high with 12 kills on a .417 clip, while freshman Kaylin Burkey (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) registered 11 kills against the Mountain Cats. Sophomore Sarah Moehring (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) finished with her ninth kill/dig double-double behind 10 kills and 18 digs. Fellow sophomore Sarah Benson (Canton, Ohio/Jackson) guided the offense with 43 assists and 12 digs for her 12th assist/dig double-double this season.
 
Junior libero Jensen Silbaugh (Warren, Ohio/Lakeview) and Moehring tied for the team lead with 18 digs, while sophomore Shelby Alloway (Dunkirk, Ohio/Hardin Northern) posted 14 digs against the Mountain Cats. The Vulcans tallied double-digit service aces for the seventh time this year after recording 15 aces on Friday night. Alloway, Benson, Burkey and Silbaugh each finished with three aces in the contest. Cal U also registered a season-high 10.0 blocks after Kline and freshman Chelsea Howard (Atlanta, Ga./North Atlanta) both set career highs with five blocks. McKenna also controlled the net with a season-high four blocks, while Burkey and Moehring each added two blocks.
 
Pitt-Johnstown started the match with a 1-0 advantage after claiming the first set by 25-22 margin behind 16 kills. The Mountain Cats mounted an early 6-3 lead before scoring five of the next seven points. The Vulcans would trim the deficit to 13-9, but Pitt-Johnstown answered with back-to-back kills. Cal U then tallied four-straight points to close the gap to 15-13 before the Mountain Cats countered with three-consecutive points. Following a timeout, Cal U recorded a 7-3 rally to cut the deficit to 21-20, but Pitt-Johnstown scored four of the final six points to take the first set, 25-22.
 
The Vulcans tied the match at 1-1 after the second set featured 10 ties and five lead changes. The Mountain Cats established an 8-4 advantage before Cal U totaled four-unanswered points to tie the match at 8-8. Both teams would continue to exchange the lead before Pitt-Johnstown used a 5-1 run to take a 16-12 lead. The Vulcans responded with seven-consecutive points, including three kills from Moehring, to reclaim the lead at 19-16. The Mountain Cats would tie the contest at 20-20 before Cal U scored five of the next six points to secure the second set by a 25-21 margin.
 
In the third set, Pitt-Johnstown would take a 2-1 lead after the third set was highlighted by 14 different ties and eight lead changes. Cal U took an early 3-1 lead until the Mountain Cats rallied off four-straight points to take a 5-3 advantage. The Vulcans then went on a 6-3 run to reclaim the lead at 9-8 with a pair of kills from Kline. Cal U would remain ahead until Pitt-Johnstown used an 8-2 rally to take a 19-15 advantage. The Vulcans answered with four-straight points to tie the contest at 19-19 before scoring five of the next nine points to take a 24-23 lead. The Mountain Cats fought off match point and registered a 4-1 run to claim the fourth set, 27-25.
 
Cal U tied the match again with a 25-19 victory behind 10 kills in the fourth set. The Vulcans built a 10-5 advantage early in the set, including three kills by McKenna. Pitt-Johnstown countered by scoring six of the next nine points to trim the deficit to 13-11. Cal U then recorded three-unanswered points before the Mountain Cats posted a 5-2 run to close the gap to 18-16. Following a timeout, Cal U recorded a 7-3 rally to win the fourth set by a 25-19 margin.
 
In the fifth set, the Vulcans raced out to a 4-0 lead after a pair of service aces from Benson. Following a Pitt-Johnstown timeout, the teams exchanged the next eight points before Cal U scored three of the next four points to build an 11-5 lead. Both teams traded the next six points down the stretch of the fifth set before a kill from Howard sealed the victory by a 15-10 margin.
 
The Vulcans continue PSAC Southwest play tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 26, when they travel to face IUP at 1 p.m.