GREENSBURG, Pa. (Nov. 15) – Behind a combined 31 kills by senior Laurel Miller (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) and junior Mary Lavery (La Plata, Md./La Plata), the Vulcans advanced in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament with a 3-1 victory (25-20, 23-25, 25-15, 25-18) against West Chester in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team, the No. 4 seed from the West, improves to 27-8 overall and will face host Seton Hill, the No. 2 seed from the West, in the PSAC Championship tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 16, at 12 p.m. The match will broadcast live throughout the state on PCN and will be available to watch through the PCN Mobile App.

Miller registered a match high with 17 kills on 48 attempts and tallied 12 digs for her fifth-straight kill/dig double-double. A two-time All-PSAC West First-Team selection, she also collected three service aces in the victory. Lavery nearly tied her season high with 14 kills on a .249 hitting percentage on Saturday.

Freshman Ashley Leto (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) and sophomore Danielle Hayes (Erie, Pa./McDowell) finished with nine and eight kills, respectively. Sophomore Megan Litoborski (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) directed the offense with 35 assists against the Golden Rams.

Leto led the team and established a season high with 22 digs and senior Samantha Rudy (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) registered 17 digs. Litoborski recorded her 13th assist/dig double-double, finishing with 16 digs. Hayes controlled the net with three assists and five other players posted one block in the victory.

In the first set, West Chester won four of the initial six points before the teams tied the score at 9-9. The Vulcans then mounted a 7-2 run to take a 16-11 lead on an attacking error before the Golden Rams claimed five of the next seven points to trim the deficit to 18-16. Cal U won four of the next five points to take a 22-17 lead before West Chester answered with three-straight points. The Vulcans then earned the next three points to record a 25-20 victory on back-to-back attacking errors.

The Golden Rams earned seven-straight points early in the second to take an 8-3 lead and later won five of six points to take a 14-7 lead, forcing the Vulcans to call a timeout. Cal U countered by winning five of seven points to trim the deficit to 16-12 on a kill by Miller. The Vulcans later posted a 5-1 run to cut the lead to 20-18 on back-to-back kills by Lavery. The teams each then earned consecutive points before West Chester took a 24-21 lead on a blocking error. The Vulcans staved off set point with a kill and a block assist before the Golden Rams posted a 25-23 win in the second set.

Cal U maintained the lead for the entire third set after taking a quick 8-2 lead on a service ace by Miller. The Golden Rams won four of the next five points to trim the deficit to 9-6 before the teams traded the next five points. West Chester later earned back-to-back points before Cal U mounted an 8-2 run to take a 21-12 lead on a block assist by Hayes and Lavery. The Golden Rams answered with three-straight points before the Vulcans closed the set with four-consecutive points to earn a 25-15 victory on a service ace by senior Taylor Melidona (Rochester, N.Y./Irondequoit).

The Vulcans posted the match victory after hitting at a staggering .419 clip in the fourth set. Cal U opened play with an 8-3 run before West Chester claimed five of the next seven points to cut the deficit to 10-8. The Vulcans then mounted a 7-1 rally to stretch the lead to 17-9 on a bad set. The Golden Rams countered by winning four of six points before the Vulcans answered with four-straight points to take a 22-14 lead. West Chester then posted a 4-1 run to trim the deficit to 23-18 before Miller recorded back-to-back kills to give Cal U a 25-18 win.

Cal U will face Seton Hill in the PSAC Championship tomorrow at 12 p.m. The Griffins advanced to the title match with a 3-0 victory against Shippensburg, the No. 4 seed from the East, on Saturday night.