MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny volleyball squad gave senior Catherine Kasianowicz a memorable final home match for the Blue and Gold, as the Gators defeated Carnegie Mellon, 3-2, in an instant classic on Saturday at the David V. Wise Center. 

In front of an inspired crowd, the Gators jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Carnegie Mellon, who is receiving votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Poll, tied up the contest to force a decisive fifth set.  Allegheny sealed its 18th win of the season, the highest win total for the team since 2005, in an electric fifth set for the squad's first win over Carnegie Mellon since 2003.

Junior Bailey Gawley erupted for 20 kills, a career-high, hitting a .235 clip to lead the Gators' offense.  Kasianowicz capped off her final match at the David V. Wise Center with a career-high 32 digs, tacking on a pair of service aces and an assist.  Kasianowicz was one of three Gators finish the game with double digit digs, as Allegheny first years Kylee Karczewski and Terra Schall each picked up 16 digs.

Freshman Leah Franzluebbers closed out the game with four total blocks and four kills, including a pair of solo stops in the fifth set that put the Gators in position for the win.  Classmate Justine Kelly grabbed 37 assists, tying junior Sarah Swartz for the team lead in aces with three each.  Junior Julia Weeks scored 10 kills, while Swartz tacked on a solo stop and a pair of block assists for three total blocks.

A six-point run by the Gators, capped with an ace from Swartz, gave the Gators a 10-4 lead in the first set.  The Tartans closed the gap to five points, but the Gators responded with a 7-4 run, this time capped with an ace from Kelly, to build the lead to 20-12.  A kill from Weeks sealed the early lead as the Gators took game one, 25-16.

Allegheny picked up a 13-4 lead in the third set before four consecutive points from Carnegie Mellon brought the Tartans back to within five.  Carnegie Mellon used another scoring run to bring the Gator lead to 18-16 before a 6-2 run brought Allegheny to the brink of a two-set lead, 24-18.  The Tartans scored four straight to push the second set to 24-22, but a service error by Carnegie Mellon gave Allegheny the 2-0 lead.

The Tartans grabbed an 18-11 lead in the third and never looked back, shaking off a late Allegheny run to win the third set, 25-18.  Allegheny grabbed an early, 5-2 advantage, but Carnegie Mellon used the momentum from the third set to tie the match, 2-2, with another 25-18 win in the fourth.

The fifth set saw the Gators trail the Tartans, 3-1, early.  After a kill by Gawley, a solo block by Franzluebbers jump-started the Gators, who responded with a set-changing, five-point run that put the squad up, 7-4.  Leading, 9-6, after the mid-set break, the Gators stopped a two-point rally by Carnegie Mellon with a two-point run of their own to go up, 11-8. Kasianowicz scored an ace to give the Gators the three-point lead.

Allegheny closed the match on a 4-3 run, holding off a last-ditch effort by the Tartans.  After an attack error by Carnegie Mellon, Gawley racked up her 20th kill of the afternoon before a final Tartan error ended the match and gave the Gators their eighth home win of the season.

The Gators will next travel to Springfield, Ohio for the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) tournament. Allegheny, the No. 6 seed, will take on third-seeded Hiram at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7 to kick off the tournament.