LATROBE, Pa. (Sept. 3) - The Saint Vincent women's volleyball team opened the 2022 season in fine fashion, earning a straight-sets victory over crosstown rival Pitt-Greensburg to open the 2022 SVC Bearcat Challenge in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.

Set scores were 25-23, 25-14 and 26-24.

The Bearcats boasted a balanced effort on both sides of the ball, with five different players recording at least five kills and three recording 10 or more digs.

Carly Augustine led the way, as she totaled match-highs in both kills (10) and assists (16). The veteran, who also added three digs and one block assist, swung at an impressive .308 clip, committing just two attack errors. Teammate Kaelyn Staples added nine kills and two block assists, while senior Lindsey Kocjancic was a force at the net, putting down eight kills to go with three blocks. Luciana Polk added seven kills and Vivian Poach five.

Sophomore Stacie Ramos led the way defensively, picking up a match-high 23 digs, while Poach added a career-high 17 and Nicolena Yanosick 10. Poach also chipped in with 10 assists to record her first career double-double. 

Saint Vincent also had a big night on the serve, recording 10 service aces. Augustine and Yanosick tied for the team lead with three apiece, while Ramos served a pair.

In the opening set, an early kill by Kocjancic and Yanosick's first ace of the night gave the Bearcats an early 2-0 lead, before the Bobcats came back to score five straight points. The UPG lead would stretch to 11-6 and the visitors' advantage would hover between three and six points over the next several serves. Trailing by three points, Haley Stormer's kills would ignite a Bearcat rally, with Poach, Staples and Augustine each recording kills in succession to put SVC back in front, 19-18. The teams traded points over the next few serves, before the Bobcats took a 22-21 lead. Kocjancic promptly tied it at 22 with a kill, before a put down from Poach put the Bearcats in front for good. The set would end with a pair of Bobcat errors to give SVC the 25-23 win.

The second set saw the teams exchange four lead changes and five ties in the early going before a 5-0 run, which included kills from Polk and Poach, gave SVC an 11-6 lead. The Bobcats battled back to pull to within one, 14-13, but from there, it was all Saint Vincent. The hosts scored the final nine points of the set, with back-to-back aces from Augustine sealing the 25-14 win.

Saint Vincent looked to carry the momentum of the dominant second set into the third, jumping out to an early 11-5 lead, with Kocjancic, Augustine and Staples each tallying two kills apiece over the span. UPG stormed back with a lengthy 15-5 run to take a four-point lead, 20-16. The Bearcats would then chip away at the deficit, cutting it to 20-18 after a pair of UPG errors, before a kill from Augustine closed the gap to 21-19. Kills from Staples and Augustine made it a one-point game, 22-21, and then the Bearcats would finally regain the lead, 24-23, after a pair of errors and a Poach kill. An SVC service error tied the set at 24, but the Bearcats promptly scored the evening's final two points, on kills from Jessica Hughes and Augustine, to win the set, 26-24, and the match, 3-0.

The Bearcats will continue their busy weekend with a pair of matches on Saturday, Sept. 3. At 11 a.m., SVC will take on Penn State-Berks, before facing Shenandoah University at 1 p.m. in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.