Weekend College Top 10: Pitt, Penn State volleyball split showdown

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend:

1. Pitt, Penn State volleyball split home-and-home series

The No. 6 Panthers and No. 4 Nittany Lions each won on the road in their top-10 matchup over the weekend.

Penn State prevailed 28-26, 21-25, 25-21, 20-25, 16-14 on Sunday in front of a Pitt-record crowd of 5,195 at Petersen Events Center, handing the Panthers’ their first loss this season. Gabby Blossom had 46 assists, 17 digs and five blocks for the Nittany Lions (7-2), and Jonni Parker recorded a team-best 17 kills.

S5 | #PSUVB 16, Pitt 14

Lions win! Great atmosphere. Great support. And great effort by Penn State!#WeAre ?? pic.twitter.com/9RddJfWpPq

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) September 22, 2019

Kayla Lund finished with 23 kills and 17 digs for Pitt (11-1).

On Friday, the Panthers earned a 25-17, 25-21, 25-23 sweep for their first win over Penn State since 1987.

we know you wanna see this match point video

and here it is#H2P pic.twitter.com/ZZ7qDAR81A

— Pitt Volleyball (@Pitt_VB) September 21, 2019

Lund totaled 14 kills, and Chinaza Ndee had 12. Stephanie Williams contributed nine kills and a team-high 10 digs.

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2. Carnegie Mellon football knocks off No. 12 W&J

Willie Richter caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from JD Dayhuff with 5 minutes, 11 seconds left as the Tartans topped their PAC rivals 20-13 on Saturday.

It was CMU’s biggest upset since D3football.com unveiled a top 25 poll in 2003.

Dayhuff finished 17 of 28 for 239 yards and two TDs, and Richter made six catches for 97 yards for Carnegie Mellon (3-0, 2-0).

Quinn Gaughan had 17 tackles, including 1 1/2 sacks, a fumble recovery and interception.

Just one of the awesome plays by the Tartan defense today in the 20-13 win against #12 Washington & Jefferson! A 4th quarter sack by Quinn Gaughan on 3rd and 19 @TartanFB #d3fb pic.twitter.com/M28Eq4ZVcK

— CMU Athletics (@tartanathletics) September 21, 2019

Jacob Adams threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns — both to Cameron O’Brien — for the Presidents (2-1). Mitch DeZort (Highlands) recorded 11 tackles and 3 1/2 sacks.

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3. Duquesne football squeaks past Dayton

Mark Allen scored on a 1-yard run with 7:13 left as the Dukes rallied for a 35-31 victory Saturday.

Allen, a graduate transfer from Penn State, carried 30 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns.

Mark Allen rushed for 1⃣6⃣8⃣ yards today.

This one-yard go-ahead touchdown in the 4th quarter is our favorite rushing yard of the day.#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/crNo1mTv72

— Duquesne Football (@DuqFB) September 21, 2019

Daniel Parr threw for two touchdowns and ran for another for the Dukes (2-1), and Kellon Taylor caught seven passes for 78 yards and a touchdown.

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4. No. 11 Slippery Rock dominates on both sides of ball

Roland Rivers III went 21 of 26 for 339 yards and six touchdowns, propelling The Rock to a 49-0 triumph over Millersville on Saturday.

Cinque Sweeting caught six passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns, and Henry Litwin had seven receptions for 73 yards and two touchdowns.

FB: TOUCHDOWN! Roland Rivers III hits Cinque Sweeting for an 87 yard TD. Longest TD pass at SRU since Sept. 9, 2017. Sweeting's third TD today. Rivers' sixth TD pass. Rock leads Millersville 49-0 with 9:05 left in the 3rd. pic.twitter.com/982gPK9p5E

— Rock Athletics (@Rock_Athletics) September 22, 2019

Slippery Rock (3-0) led 28-0 after the first quarter and 42-0 at halftime.

Defensively, The Rock recorded seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss.

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5. No. 24 IUP football rolls to victory

The Crimson Hawks routed Lock Haven, 77-14, on Saturday, scoring the second-most points in school history.

IUP’s Quinton Maxwell and Jalen Reese combined to go 25 of 28 for 389 yards and seven touchdowns, a team record for passing TDs in a game.

? This 59-yard catch and run by Dwine Walls was our longest play of the game

Walls finished with game-highs of 5 catches and 108 yards to go along with a TD #TalonsUp pic.twitter.com/k3ead6e8ig

— IUP Football (@IUPfootball) September 22, 2019

Dillon Sarka hit a school-record 11 extra points as the Crimson Hawks moved to 3-0.

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6. Pitt-Greensburg women’s soccer stays unbeaten

Ashley Lucas tied the school record with four goals, leading the Bobcats past Pitt-Bradford, 7-0, on Saturday to improve to 7-0. Lucas also had an assist, and her nine points were the second-best single-game total in school history. Tiffany Michalek had three goals, and Lauren Yoder totaled six saves for her fifth shutout this season.

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7. Cal (Pa.) QB shines again

Noah Mitchell threw a career-best four touchdowns as the Vulcans dominated Shippensburg, 58-7, on Saturday.

Jordan Dandridge had 107 receiving yards and two touchdowns for Cal (2-1), and Tyson Hill (Valley) totaled 101 receiving yards and a touchdown.

The Cal defense forced four turnovers and recorded five sacks.

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8. CMU men’s soccer ties No. 5 John Carroll

Jordi Long scored, and Alex Singh made seven saves as Carnegie Mellon and the Blue Streaks tied 1-1 on Sunday.

Long’s goal made it 1-0 less than four minutes left for the Tartans (4-3-1), but John Carroll (7-0-1) answered about two minutes later.

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9. RMU football ends road losing skid

Alijah Jackson ran for 125 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown, as the Colonials beat VMI, 31-21, on Saturday for their first road win since 2015.

Aniello Buzzacco recorded 13 tackles for Robert Morris (1-3), which had lost 21 straight on the road.

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10. Saint Vincent golfer wins invitational

Sydney Ball shot 84 to earn medalist honors Sunday at the Mt. Aloysius Invitational at Summit Country Club in Cresson. The Bearcats placed second among three teams.