SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University volleyball team earned a 25-21, 25-17, 25-21 sweep against Pitt-Johnstown Tuesday at Morrow Field House.
 
Slippery Rock's win snaps a four-match losing streak and improves its record to 9-11 overall and 2-6 inside the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. Pitt-Johnstown leaves SRU at 15-6 overall and 3-5 in conference matches.
 
The victory gives SRU a split in the season series with Pitt-Johnstown, which narrowly edged The Rock in five sets at UPJ earlier in the year.
 
The Rock earned their win thanks in no small part to team single-match season-high attack percentage of .279. Additionally, Slippery Rock's defense registered 10 total blocks on the night, the team's highest in a three-set match this season.
 
Every Rock athlete to take the floor made significant contributions Tuesday.
 
Callie Chevalier paced the attack with a match-best 13 kills on an efficient .242 attack percentage. Chelsie Wheeler and Aslyn Pry added eight kills apiece with Pry boasting a near perfect .667 hitting percentage.
 
Meanwhile, Lauren VonderHaar (7), Erica Selfridge (6) and Kaitlyn Danszczak (4) combined for 17 kills.
 
Setters Jaeden Yost and Paityn Krause guided the offense with matching 19-assist performances.
 
Yost, Krause, Kara Pasquale and Kate Lachendro-Biery accounted for one ace apiece as well. Lachendro-Biery also made a match-high 15 digs.
 
VonderHaar captained SRU's defensive effort with six blocks (one solo / five assisted). She is now just four rejections away from becoming only the fourth athlete in program history with back-to-back 100-block seasons. Aiding VonderHaar up front with multiple blocks was Wheeler (3), Pry (2) and Danszczak (2).
 
As a team, Slippery Rock held advantages over Pitt-Johnstown in kills (46-41), attack percentage (.279-.220), aces (4-0) and total blocks (10-4) while the Mountain Cats carved out a 60-57 edge in digs.
 
Slippery Rock and Pitt-Johnstown played to a 13-13 tie in the opening set before a quick three-point run by SRU gave the hosts all the separation they needed as UPJ could not trim its deficit to less than two points for the remainder of the set in an eventual 25-21 SRU win.
 
Chevalier registered five kills and VonderHaar played a part in four blocks throughout the first set.
 
The second set began as a close affair as well, but with the score deadlocked at 7-7 Slippery Rock fired off a decisive 12-4 run to push its lead out to eight points en route to a 25-17 triumph.
 
Slippery Rock's big run in the second set came in part courtesy of three kills by Pry in addition to two kills and a block from VonderHaar.
 
The Rock seemed poised to breeze to a third-set victory when they took a 20-12 lead following an 8-2 run midway through what turned out to be the final set of the night only for the Mountain Cats to fight back from the hole to make it a 23-21 contest late.
 
However, SRU withstood the late charge and put any thoughts of a UPJ rally to rest thanks to Chevalier's 13th and final kill of the night followed by match-clinching block by Pry and Wheeler.
 
Lualis Alvarado led Pitt-Johnstown with a 13-kill, 10-dig double-double.
 
Slippery Rock continues the second leg of its round-robin PSAC West schedule when it hosts Seton Hill University 6:30 p.m. Nov. 11 at Morrow Field House.




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