Weekend College Top 10: Slippery Rock football earns spot in D-II semifinals

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

1. Slippery Rock football bound for semifinals

Roland Rivers III accounted for eight touchdowns — six passing and two rushing — as the eighth-ranked Rock outlasted 13th-ranked Notre Dame (Ohio), 65-59, in the NCAA Division II playoffs Saturday.

Rivers threw for a career-best 436 yards for Slippery Rock (13-0), which broke the single-season school record for wins. The Rock hosts No. 4 Minnesota State at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

FB: We got asked by some media outlets for clips of the performance from Roland Rivers III today so we threw this little diddy together. 436 passing yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT, 2 rushing TDs. Not a bad day for our QB1. pic.twitter.com/9KbhtZ3qBG

— Rock Athletics (@Rock_Athletics) December 8, 2019

Henry Litwin had 12 catches for 203 yards — both career highs — and three touchdowns. He also broke the single-season school record for receptions with 92. Jermaine Wynn Jr. (Woodland Hills) added seven catches for 87 yards and two touchdowns.

•••

2. Penn State women’s volleyball reaches Sweet 16

Kendall White broke the school’s career digs record, and the Nittany Lions defeated Towson in four games in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. Game scores were 22-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-20.

Next stop: regionals for @PennStateVBALL! pic.twitter.com/2yUIZyBqWX

— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) December 8, 2019

White totaled 14 digs, giving her 1,969 all-time, to break the record held by Kaleena Walters (2002-05).

Hear what @kbaby1010 had to say about her team's @NCAAVolleyball Second Round win and playing at Rec Hall for the final time.#WeAre pic.twitter.com/ewwoDVQN3t

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) December 8, 2019

Penn State (26-5) will next face Cincinnati at 8 p.m. Friday in Stanford, Calif. The Bearcats eliminated Pitt on Saturday.

Jonni Parker led the Nittany Lions with 19 kills.

•••

3. Carlow’s Stille grabs 32 rebounds vs. Point Park

Emma Stille, a 6-foot-1 senior, scored 13 points to go with her rebound total as the Celtics won 76-67 in a River States Conference game Saturday.

Sophomore Kamryn Lach (Bethel Park) scored a team-best 16 points for Carlow (6-5, 1-1).

Taylor Rinn finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds for Point Park (6-5, 0-1), which bounced back to beat Washington Adventist University on Sunday.

•••

4. Saint Vincent women deal Grove City 1st loss

Madison Kollar (Latrobe) scored 22 points as the Bearcats prevailed 82-71 in overtime Saturday in the PAC.

The Bearcats (5-1, 2-0) led by as many as 14 in the first half before the Wolverines (7-1, 1-1) rallied. But Saint Vincent outscored Grove City, 17-6, in OT.

Jenna Lafko (Hampton) added 16 points in the victory.

Kate Balcom finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolverines, and Jess Bowen had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

•••

5. No. 4 Pitt-Johnstown wrestling earns tough victory

The Mountain Cats rallied from a 9-3 deficit and defeated No. 7 Ashland, 19-12, on Saturday.

No. 12 Jacob Ealy (Hopewell) recorded a sudden-victory win over No. 4 Chandler Minnard at 141 pounds to fuel the comeback.

Top-ranked 149-pounder Chris Eddins (Greensburg Salem) and third-ranked 165-pounder Devin Austin (Penn-Trafford) also earned wins for Pitt-Johnstown (9-2).

•••

6. Pitt-Greensburg men off to best start since moving to NCAA

Matt Johnson had 21 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead the Bobcats past D’Youville, 91-73, on Saturday in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

Pitt-Greensburg, which began competing in the NCAA in 1997, improved to 6-1, 4-0.

Cam Seigfreid (Penn-Trafford) added 19 points, and JoJo France scored 16.

The Spartans dropped to 1-6, 0-4.

•••

7. Howarth helps Carnegie Mellon extend streak

Zach Howarth scored 22 points, moving within five of 1,000 for his career, as the Tartans defeated Penn State Behrend, 69-66, on Saturday.

It was Carnegie Mellon’s fifth straight win, and it also halted a seven-game skid against the Lions.

Trent Suddeth added 17 points for Carnegie Mellon (5-2).

Devin Pope had 19 points for Penn State Behrend (4-3).

•••

8. No. 10 Pitt wrestling shuts out Drexel

Eighth-ranked Nino Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park) opened the match with a major decision at 184 pounds, and the Panthers never looked back in a 33-0 victory Sunday.

Ninth-ranked heavyweight Demetrius Thomas and fifth-ranked 133-pounder Micky Phillippi (Derry) also earned major decisions for the Panthers (4-1).

•••

9. Penn State’s Holmberg opens indoor season with dominant victory

Senior Maddie Holmberg (Hempfield) won all five events of the pentathlon to take first at the Bison Opener on Friday at Bucknell. She took ninth at the NCAA indoor championships last season in the pentathlon.

•••

10. W&J’s McDaniel shines in PAC victory

Sophomore Aleena McDaniel recorded career bests of 29 points and 11 rebounds as Washington & Jefferson downed Geneva, 82-72, on Saturday.

It was her first career double-double.

Lauren Gilbert (Baldwin) added 20 points for the Presidents (6-3, 1-1).

Lauren Tipton totaled 20 points and nine rebounds for Geneva (1-7, 0-2).