Box Score

ERIE, Pa.- The Mercyhurst volleyball team beat Indiana (Pa.) in four sets Saturday night. The Lakers won by scores of 25-19, 18-25, 25-21, and 28-26 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division match. Mercyhurst has now won seven straight.

Mercyhurst played its strongest game in the first frame, hitting .361 with 20 kills on its way to a six-point win. Kelly Vitt had a stellar run serving, scoring five straight points midway through the set. Becky Smith had three kills and Camille Alvarez had two kills in the spurt. 

Neither team played at its peak in the second game, as IUP evened the match with a 25-18 win. With the score tied at 17, the Crimson Hawks took eight out of ten points to tie the match.

The Lakers bounced back with a better performance in the third game, hitting .263 as a unit. The hosts held a small margin later in the set, but IUP would not go away. Four times, the Hawks came within one point, and four times the Lakers scored to inch closer to a win. Two late kills by Becky Leusch led to a Smith kill on set point as the Lakers won by four.

The fourth frame was the most competitive of the night. After Mercyhurst took a 4-1 lead early, IUP answered and eventually tied the game at 12. Two Lexi Stefanov kills sparked a Laker rally that saw the lead go to 20-15. Indiana responded with a run of its own, getting within one at 21-20. Consecutive IUP points evened the score at 23. The teams traded points after that, eventually reaching a 26-26 stalemate. Kiera Rebert found Leusch for two straight kills to end the match with a 28-26 Mercyhurst decision.

Leusch had 17 kills. Alvarez had 12 kills and 12 digs. Rebert dished out 32 assists, while Vitt added 17. Elyse Texido led with 30 digs, while Amanda Balasko totaled 13. As a team, the Lakers attacked at a .244 rate, while IUP hit .173 for the contest.

Mercyhurst improved to 20-6 overall and 8-5 in the PSAC. Indiana is 18-10 overall and 6-6 in league action.

The Lakers host Daemen in a non-conference match Tuesday, October 23. The contest is set for a 7:05 p.m. start.