CALIFORNIA (Nov. 9) – The California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team snapped a four-match skid with a 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-19, 25-16) over Slippery Rock on Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover action at the Convocation Center.
 
With the win, the Vulcans improve to 12-12 overall with a 7-9 mark in conference play, while also boasting a 9-1 record at home this season. Meanwhile, The Rock falls to 7-20 this season behind a 2-13 record in league action. Cal U has won 24-straight meetings versus Slippery Rock dating back to the 2006 campaign, including 16 wins by a 3-0 margin.
 
Junior Madison Kline  (Hastings, Pa./Cambria Heights) tied for the team lead with 11 kills on a .435 hitting percentage, while sophomore Sarah Moehring (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) also registered 11 kills on a .391 clip and totaled 12 digs in just two sets for her 12th kill/dig double-double this season. Freshman Kaylin Burkey  (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) tallied six kills, while sophomore Sarah Benson (Canton, Ohio/Jackson) directed the offense with 34 assists and seven digs in the victory on Saturday.
 
Junior libero Jensen Silbaugh (Warren, Ohio/Lakeview) and Burkey tied for the team lead with 17 digs, while Moehring also finished with double-digit digs. Silbaugh now ranks fifth all-time in Cal U history with 1,466 digs after passing Molly Delaney (2010-13), who recorded 1,455 digs in her career. The Vulcans recorded nine service aces in the match, led by sophomore Shelby Alloway (Dunkirk, Ohio/Hardin Northern) with four aces. Freshman Chelsea Howard (Atlanta, Ga./North Atlanta) controlled the net with three blocks and sophomore Kiandria Cowart (East Liverpool, Pa./East Liverpool) added two blocks against The Rock.
 
The first set featured 13 ties and six lead changes, as Cal U claimed the set by a 25-22 margin. The beginning of the set provided little separation as the teams were tied at 9-9 before Slippery Rock scored five of eight points to take a 14-12 advantage. The Vulcans answered with three-straight points to take a 15-14 lead and forced The Rock into a timeout. Slippery Rock reclaimed the lead at 17-16 before Cal U mounted an 8-2 run to hold a 24-19 advantage. The Rock battled off set point three times before Moehring sealed the first set with a kill, 25-22.
 
The Vulcans held Slippery Rock to a .079 hitting percentage in the second set to take a 2-0 lead. Cal U raced out to a 10-5 lead behind kills from five different players. The Rock closed the gap to 14-11 before the Vulcans scored seven of the next nine points to take a 21-13 advantage. Slippery Rock would once again hold off set point with a short 4-0 run before Cal U took the set by a 25-19 margin.
 
Cal U completed the 3-0 sweep after hitting at a .312 clip in the third set behind 13 kills. Slippery Rock held a slight 6-5 edge early in the set before the Vulcans tallied six-straight points take an 11-6 lead. The Rock would score four of the next five points to trim the deficit to 13-10, but Cal U responded with a 9-3 run, including three aces by Alloway, to take a 22-13 advantage. Slippery Rock managed to close the gap to 24-16 before Benson secured the match victory with a kill, 25-16.
 
The Vulcans return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 12, when it faces regionally-ranked Seton Hill in PSAC Southwest Division action in the Convocation Center, starting at 7 p.m.