Box Score Illinois-Springfield Box

Northwestern Oklahoma Box

PITTSBURG, Kan. -- The PIttsburg State Volleyball season started the 2012 season with two 3-0 wins in the PIttsburg State Classic. The Gorillas defeated Illinois-Springfield, 25-22, 25-18, 27-25, and Northwestern Oklahoma, 25-8, 25-17, 25-16.

Fourteen different Gorillas saw action in the two matches, including six first-year players. 

Against Illinois-Springfield, the Gorillas hit at a .274 clip, while the Prairiestars hit .221. Though Illinois-Springfield had three more kills and five more digs, Pitt State tallied five more blocks. 

Newcomer Paula Okrutna led the team with 10 kills. She had only one error in 21 attempts to hit at a .429 clip. Freshman Crystal Whitten added nine kills. Junior Christa McCaw led the team in digs with 11 and senior Nicole Rockhold added eight. Okrutna and freshman Chloe Foster led the team with four blocks a piece.

In the second game, PItt State hit .247, while holding Northwestern Oklahoma State to a -.022 hitting percentage. In the first set, the Gorillas only allowed the Rangers one kill. Pitt State had five team blocks, while allowing NWOSU only one.

The team spread the offense through many players, so no one registered double figure kills. Whitten led the team with seven kills. Freshman Chandler Blanton added five, senior Leah Flynn and freshmen Abbie Smith and Olivia Roland each had four. Rockhold led the team with nine digs and McCaw added eight. . Roland led the team in blocks with three.

The Gorillas will continue PItt State Classic play on Saturday with a match against Bemidji State at 11 a.m. and William Jewell at 4 p.m.