CALIFORNIA (Oct. 11) – The California (PA) volleyball overcame a 2-1 deficit to earn a 3-2 win (25-17, 18-25, 19-25, 25-20, 17-15) against Pitt-Johnstown at the Convocation Center in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West match on Tuesday night.
With the win, the Vulcans improve to 10-8 overall with a 4-5 mark in conference play. Cal has played five sets in four of its last five matches dating back to Sept. 30. Meanwhile, the Mountain Cats fall to 7-15 this season behind a 1-8 record in divisional action.
Senior
Kaylin Burkey (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) paced the team with 17 kills while hitting at a .286 clip, plus collected five service aces and nine digs on Tuesday. Freshman
Elisa Rugiero (Vicenza, Italy/Farina Vicenza) contributed 13 kills and sophomore
Allie Droneberger (North Beach, Md./Northern) added 10 kills to the victory. Freshman
Ashley Barnes (Crofton, Md./Arundel) recorded a season-high 34 assists and 13 digs for her second assist/dig double-double of the month.
On the defensive side, senior
Kelly Lynch (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Holy Name) and junior
Emily Buwawa (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) led the team with 16 digs. Junior
Alayja Floyd (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central) controlled the net with a career-high nine total blocks.
Within the first 16 points that were scored in the first set, the match featured two lead changes. The Mountain Cats tied the score at 8-8 which was followed by a 6-1 run by the Vulcans to grasp a 14-9 lead. Cal later captured momentum with a 7-2 run that was capped by a service ace from Burkey to give the Vulcans a 21-11 advantage. UPJ answered with a 6-2 rally and trimmed the deficit to 23-17 before Cal closed out the first set with a pair of kills from Rugiero and Burkey, 25-17.
The Mountain Cats trailed 5-4 early in the second set until they conducted a 6-1 run to take a 10-6 lead. The teams traded the next eight point followed by UPJ scoring five of nine points to hold a 19-14 lead. The Mountain Cats ended the second set on a 7-4 run to post a 25-18 victory to tie the match.
UPJ jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the third set after a service error by Cal. The Vulcans claimed a 10-6 lead after conducting a 9-1 run which started and ended on an attack error by the Mountain Cats. UPJ trimmed the deficit to 12-11 after a 5-2 run before the teams traded the next six points which led to a Cal timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Mountain Cats rattled off six-straight points to take a 20-15 advantage. The Vulcans cut the deficit to 21-18 after a 3-1 run, however, UPJ scored four of the next five points to take the set by a 25-19 margin.
Cal trailed 5-3 in the fourth set until it executed a 7-2 run and took a 10-7 lead. UPJ scored four of the next six points and tied the set at 11-11 followed by Cal tallying five-consecutive points, forcing a Mountain Cat timeout. After the timeout, UPJ went on a 4-2 to trim the deficit to 18-15 and eventually cut the Cal lead to 21-20. The Vulcans scored four-consecutive points to win the set, 25-20.
In the fifth set, the Vulcans took an early 5-1 lead following two kills by Burkey before a Mountain Cat timeout. UPJ conducted a 7-1 run coming out of the timeout to take an 8-6 lead. Cal scored four of the next six points to tie the set at 10-10. The Mountain Cats executed a 4-1 run to seize 14-10 lead. The Vulcans then scored four-straight points to take a 15-14 lead before the Mountain Cats answered with a kill to tie the score at 15-15. Cal tallied back-to-back points on kills by Burkey and Droneberger to win the set by a 17-15 margin and the match.
The Vulcans are back in action on Friday, Oct. 14, as they travel to Erie, Pennsylvania, to face Gannon in a conference match at 7 p.m.
