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ERIE, Pa. – Sarah Beals led the Slippery Rock University volleyball team (10-20, 5-12) to a 3-1 win in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division action at Mercyhurst (15-12, 9-8) Saturday evening.

Mercyhurst surged ahead 18-13 with five straight points midway through the opening set. Slippery Rock fought back to tie the set at 24-24 on a kill by Caroline Houston, before the teams traded points in the extended frame. Consecutive kills by Beals put The Rock up by one and a kill by Leah Jones sealed a 29-27 win in the first set for Slippery Rock.

The Rock jumped out to an early 7-3 advantage in the second set, before the Lakers ripped off another five straight points to take the lead. Mercyhurst extended the lead to 23-18 late in the frame before Slippery Rock rallied to tie the set again at 24-24. The Rock utilized the momentum to outlast the Lakers in another 29-27 set win.

The third set featured back-and-forth action as the teams traded blows. The Lakers trailed 23-22 late in the frame, but scored four of the next five points to win the set 26-24.

Trailing 16-14 in the fourth set, the Lakers recorded six straight points to take a 20-16 edge and force a SRU timeout. The Rock regrouped to go on a 9-3 run, sealing a 25-23 set win and 3-1 match victory on a block from Michelle Hren and Jones.

The win snapped a nine-game losing streak for Slippery Rock, who improved to 10-20 on the season and 5-12 in the PSAC-West. The closely-contested match featured 39 tie scores and 22 lead changes.

Beals led Slippery Rock with 16 kills and an impressive .389 attack percentage. Houston tallied 12 kills, Jones had nine kills and Hren had seven kills to round out the top Rock attackers.

Kayla Woo led the defense with 29 digs and chipped in two service aces, while Alexandra Fleagle tallied a team-high 26 assists in the win.

Three Lakers players recorded double-digit kills. Lexi Stefanov tallied 16 kills, followed by Rachel Crittle with 12 kills and Camille Alvarez with 10 kills.

Slippery Rock returns to PSAC-West action Tuesday, Nov. 5 at Edinboro. Game time is set for 7 p.m.