SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University volleyball team earned a four-set Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division victory over Pitt-Johnstown Friday night at Morrow Field House.
 
The Rock and Mountain Cats split the first two sets with SRU earning a 25-12 win in the opener and UPJ countering with a 25-16 victory in the second set. However, Slippery Rock closed out the match with narrow 26-24, 25-23 wins in the third and fourth sets.
 
SRU has now won three out of its last four matches to improve its overall record to 10-14 and its PSAC West mark to 5-6. Friday's loss drops the Mountain Cats' record to 8-17 overall and 1-10 inside the Western Division.
 
Friday's victory combined with a three-set win at UPJ earlier in the year gives SRU the season-sweep of the Mountain Cats.
 
Slippery Rock was led in the win by Callie Chevalier, who recorded 19 kills on a .360 attack percentage. Chevalier's 19 kills represented the most for SRU this season in addition to being the fifth-highest output in a single-match by a Rock freshman over the last 14 years.
 
Erica Selfridge continued her strong sophomore campaign with a 14-kill, 20-dig double-double that included a .306 attack percentage and one ace. Abigail Nigon (5), Alayna Chizmar (4) and Paige Weeder (4) combined for 13 kills as well to round out The Rock's attack.
 
Jaeden Yost guided the offense with 30 assists all the while serving one ace and making 14 digs for her 11th double-double of the year.
 
Nigon led the defense with three blocks. Weeder and Stephanie O'Donnell added two blocks as well in the win. Kate Lachendro made a match-high 34 digs in what was her fourth contest of the year with over 30 digs.
 
For an 11th consecutive match, Maria Lucas served an ace. Just one other Rock athlete has had a streak as long as Lucas' dating back to the 2008 season - Lauren Rojek also went 11 straight matches with an ace in 2013.
 
For the match, Slippery Rock held advantages over Pitt-Johnstown in kills (54-42), attack percentage (.191-.098), blocks (6-5) and digs (96-93) while the Mountain Cats exited Morrow Field House with an 8-3 edge in aces.
 
Slippery Rock took seven consecutive points to start the night while steadily growing its lead to as many as 13 points on two occasions for an eventual 25-12 victory in the first set. Chevalier had six kills in the opener while The Rock posted a team attack percentage of .395.
 
Following a 25-16 Pitt-Johnstown victory in the second set, Slippery Rock found itself trailing 19-15 in the third set before rattling off five straight points to take a 20-19 lead. The run consisted of two kills by Chevalier, a pair of blocks by Nigon and another Selfridge kill.
 
The Mountain Cats answered SRU's run with one of its own as they proceeded to capture the next three points to pull back ahead, 22-20, and force a timeout. The break in action did wonders for Slippery Rock as SRU took six of the set's final eight points for a 26-24 win. O'Donnell was pivotal in the late run with one kill and two block assists.
 
The Rock controlled the majority of the fourth set and while Pitt-Johnstown did pressure SRU late with a 5-0 run that cut Slippery Rock's lead to 24-23, Chevalier was able to end any threat of comeback with her 19th kill of the night to clinch the 25-23 match-deciding victory.
 
Mallory Pinske had 15 kills and two aces to lead Pitt-Johnstown in the loss.
 
Slippery Rock closes out the weekend with a home match against Clarion 2 p.m. Saturday at Morrow Field House. The Golden Eagles earned a three-set win over The Rock in Clarion earlier in the season.





To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on Twitter (@Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics) and Instagram (RockAthletics).