KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University volleyball team lost in four sets at Kutztown University in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference match Saturday afternoon.
 
Kutztown (8-19, 3-12 PSAC) took the opening set on its home floor, 25-22, before The Rock (11-16, 3-12 PSAC) evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-21 victory in the second set. However, the Golden Bears spoiled SRU's bid for a perfect weekend with a 25-15 victory in the third set and narrow 26-24 triumph in the fourth set.
 
Lamija Alisic was once again the catalyst of The Rock's attack Saturday. A day after tallying 13 kills in a 3-2 Rock win at East Stroudsburg, Alisic led SRU with a 12-kill effort. Shayla Ray continued her efficient offensive output by hitting .364 on what was an eight-kill day. Ray, who also had two blocks against KU, did not commit an attack error in 22 attempts and now leads Slippery Rock on the year with a .255 attack percentage.
 
Erinn Kahoe recorded nine kills, one ace and tied teammate Brooke Bostwick for match-high honors in blocks with four (one solo / three assisted). With three matches remaining in her freshman season, Kahoe ranks second on the team in both kills (207) and blocks (73).
 
Kaley Fucci chipped in seven kills to round out The Rock's top offensive performers to go with three blocks.
 
Zoe Rivet and Haley Defibaugh guided SRU's attack with 21 and 19 assists, respectively. In addition to her assists, Defibaugh also served one ace.
 
Courtney Oberlander and Jalyn Willard combined for 48 of The Rock's 77 digs. Oberlander registered a team-high 28 digs while Willard, who started for a second consecutive match, had a season-high 20 digs of her own.
 
After a tough opening-set loss, Slippery Rock set the tone early in the second set by rattling off five consecutive points to take an early 5-0 lead. While KU was able to rally and keep the score close, even trimming its deficit to as little as one point midway through the set, SRU never trailed on the way to a 25-21 victory to even the match 1-1. Fucci had three kills and two blocks in the second set.
 
However, the second set would be the apex of The Rock's day as Kutztown jumped out to a 16-8 advantage in the third set en route to a 25-15 victory followed by a fourth set in which SRU let an 18-14 lead slip away in an eventual 26-24 match-deciding loss.
 
Both teams totaled seven blocks and four aces Saturday with Kutztown out-hitting SRU .253 to .154.
 
Brittney Moyer and Holly Owen recorded 18 kills each in the win for Kutztown.
 
Slippery Rock will close out its season with three PSAC Northwest matches starting 7 p.m. Tuesday at home against Edinboro University. The Rock defeated the Fighting Scots in three sets on the road earlier in the year.
 
 
To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on Twitter (@Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics), Instagram (RockAthletics) and Snapchat (@RockAthletics).