SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa.- The Slippery Rock University volleyball team was beaten by the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in straight sets in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference opener Friday night at Morrow Field House.
 
Pitt-Johnstown swept The Rock with winning sets of 25-17, 25-19, 25-16.
 
With the loss, Slippery Rock drops to 7-7 overall and 0-1 in PSAC action. UPJ improves to 7-4 overall and opens conference action with a victory.
 
Beth Stumpf led The Rock with eight kills, while Leah Jones had seven.
 
Haley Defibaugh recorded 14 assists in the loss and Courtney Oberlander had a team-high 11 digs to round out The Rock's top performers.
 
The Mountain Cats got out to a commanding 10-2 lead in the first set with an eight-point run that broke a 2-2 tie. SRU cut its deficit to seven points at 14-7, but UPJ scored four unanswered points to stretch its lead out to 11 points, 18-7. SRU went on a six point run thanks to two aces from Jones to cut UPJ's lead to just five points. Stumpf had one more kill for The Rock before UPJ closed out the set with a 4-1 run to win 25-17.
 
Pitt-Johnstown enjoyed a five-point run early in the second set to lead The Rock 8-4. The visitors maintained a steady lead and led by as much as seven at 19-12, which led to a Slippery Rock timeout. SRU would cut its deficit to five points three times, but that was as close as the hosts would get as UPJ took the second set 25-19.
 
In the third set, UPJ broke away from a narrow 8-6 lead with a 7-1 run to lead The Rock by eight points. SRU would get no closer than six points for the remainder of the set as the Mountain Cats maintained a solid lead and won 25-16 to complete the sweep. 

Slippery Rock will welcome Lock Haven University to Morrow Field House Saturday at 2 p.m.