CALIFORNIA (Oct. 4) – The Vulcans rallied from a 2-1 deficit to earn a 3-2 victory (25-20, 23-25, 18-25, 25-20, 16-14) over Slippery Rock in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action on Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.

With the win, the California (PA) volleyball team improves to 9-7 overall with a 3-4 mark in divisional contests. Meanwhile, The Rock falls to 7-12 this season behind a 3-4 mark in conference play under 39th-year head coach Laurie Lokash.

Freshman Elisa Rugiero (Vicenza, Italy/Farina Vicenza) paced the team with a season-high 12 kills while hitting at a .235 clip. Junior Emily Buwawa (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) collected nine kills and three service aces, while classmate Alexa Malloy (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) posted eight kills on Tuesday. Freshman Ashley Barnes (Crofton, Md./Arundel) led the team with 20 assists and senior Kelly Lynch (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Holy Name) and freshman Adrianna Favata (Peoria, Ariz./Liberty) both added 13 assists.

Buwawa, who served as an outside hitter in the contest, registered a career-high 24 digs, while senior libero Kelly Lynch (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Holy Name) finished with 19 digs. Barnes totaled a season-high 18 digs in the win for her first career assist/dig double-double. Junior Alayja Floyd (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central) controlled the net with a team-high four blocks and posted seven kills on a .294 hitting percentage.

The first set featured five lead changes with California posting a 25-20 win. The Vulcans held a 5-3 edge following a ball handling error by The Rock. Slippery Rock answered by scoring three-consecutive points, however, Cal stopped the momentum by scoring four of the next five points to hold the 9-7 advantage. The Rock executed a 5-2 run to take a 13-11 lead, which didn't last long as the Vulcans countered with an 8-3 run to regain the lead at 19-16. Follwoing a Slippery Rock timeout, The Rock trimmed the deficit to 21-19 before Cal scored four of the last five points to close the set, 25-20.

As the second set commenced, The Rock jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, which forced a Cal timeout. Slippery Rock then scored three of the next four points before the Vulcans tied the set at 8-8 after a 7-2 run. Following a timeout by The Rock, Slippery Rock retook the lead with a 7-5 run to hold a 15-13 lead until a pair of errors from them tied the score at 15-15. The Rock answered with five-straight points before Cal rallied with a 5-4 run which caused a Slippery Rock timeout. The Vulcans cut their deficit to 24-23, however, the Rock won the set following a kill, 25-23.

In the early part of the third set, Slippery Rock scored the opening five points and eventually expanded its lead to a 12-3 margin. Cal cut the deficit to six following a 5-2 run, however, The Rock answered by scoring four of the next five points. The Vulcans ignited another late rally as they scored six of eight points to trim the deficit to a 20-15 margin. Each team traded the next six points until Slippery Rock finished the set with back-to-back points, 25-18.

The Rock held a slight 6-5 lead in the fourth set before a 7-2 run from the Vulcans to take a 12-9 advantage. Slippery Rock tied the set at 13-13 after scoring four of the next five points causing a Cal timeout. After the timeout, the Vulcans conducted a 5-2 run to regain the lead at 18-15 leading to a Rock timeout. Slippery Rock tied the at 19-19 coming out of the timeout. Cal claimed the fourth set following a kill from Malloy as the Vulcans scored six of the last seven points in the set, 25-20.

In the beginning of the fifth set, the Rock held a 4-0 advantage after a service ace led to a Cal timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Vulcans trimmed their deficit to a 6-5 margin after executing a 4-2 run. Cal took its first lead of the set as it scored five of the next six points and never looked back. Both teams traded the next four points until Slippery Rock scored five of the next eight points to tie the set at 14-14. The Vulcans seized the set and match by scoring the next two points from an attacking error followed by a service ace from sophomore Rachel Simon (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park), 16-14.

Cal returns to action Friday, Oct. 7, as it travels to Greensburg, Pennsylvania, to face Seton Hill in PSAC West play at 6 p.m.