Women's Volleyball | 10/25/2011 10:19:00 PM

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University volleyball team dug deep on Tuesday but couldn't quite come up with a win against visiting Pitt-Johnstown, dropping a hard-to-swallow 3-2 decision on “Dig for a Cure Night” at the ASRC.
    Coach Brooke Turner's Hilltoppers (7-14, 3-8) dropped two of the first three games but gutted out a 27-25 win in Game Four to keep the match going only to see the Mountain Cats (11-13, 7-5) prevail by a 15-9 count in the decisive final game.
    Rachel Ziegler hammered home a team-high 13 kills to pace West Liberty while Emily Mellie (9 kills, 13 blocks) and Anne Edwards (8 kills, 11 blocks) also turned in strong performances. Melissa Pierzchala weighed in with 7 kills and 11 digs while Chelsea Byrge and Gabbie Davis added 19 and 13 assists, respectively.
    Proceeds from the various contests, promotions and raffles conducted during the “Dig for the Cure” event will be donated to assist Kylie Clark, a member of the West Liberty University softball team, in her battle against cancer.
    Coach Turner and the Hilltopper volleyball team thank the members of the WLU community who turned out in support of the “Dig for the Cure” project.
 
VOLLEYBALL
Pitt-Johnstown 3, West Liberty 2
(17-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-27, 15-9)
PITT-JOHNSTOWN (11-13, 7-5)
    Jessica Heidenthal 14-0-0; Karen Schmidt 14-0-2; Kelsey Shanabrook 7-0-6; Tayler Vebares 7-0-0; Beth Kendera 6-0-12; Ashley Dirado 5-0-7; Nikki Oakes 1-0-0; Kristy Lagnese 1-2-0; Anna Greeley 1-0-0; Cassie Heatherly 0-1-1; Totals 56-3-20.0.
    Assists – Kayla Petrilla 23; Nikki Oakes 20.
    Digs – Kelsey Kohler 27
WEST LIBERTY (7-14, 3-8)
    Rachel Ziegler 13-0-4; Emily Mellie 9-0-13; Anne Edwards 8-0-11; Alexandra Kowalski 8-0-3; Melissa Pierzchala 7-0-0; Michaela Hawkins 3-0-8; Nicole Sadecky 2-0-4; Heather Tolson 1-1-2; Chelsea Byrge 1-1-0; Gabbie Davis 0-1-0; Totals 52-3-25.0.
    Assists – Chelsea Byrge 19; Gabbie Davis 13.
    Digs – Melissa Pierzchala 11; Jennifer Torrence 9