Box Score

Millersville, Pa. - The Millersville women's volleyball team took the first two sets from Shepherd and survived a furious charge by the Rams to win 3-2 Wednesday evening in Pucillo Gymnasium. The win snapped Millersville's five-match slide.

Aside from Millersville's convincing 25-16 win in the first set neither team won a set by more than three points. Millersville (11-15) took firm hold of the match with a 25-23 win in the second, but Shepherd won sets three and four by identical 25-22 scores. In the deciding fifth set, the Marauders used a Rebecca Roman kill to seal a 15-13 win.

Roman's match-winning kill was one of her career-high 13. She compiled a .478 hitting percentage by committing just two errors. She also added two block assists. Allison Huss was also a key to Millersville's attack. She totaled 13 kills to just two errors on 27 swings. She recorded 13 digs, three block assists and two service aces as well.

Millersville needed every one of its season-high 63 kills to dispatch the Rams. Shepherd fell to 8-13 with the loss but are among the best teams in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) with a 6-1 league mark.

After the first two sets, it appeared as if Millersville was going to make short work of the visitors. With the third set score in favor of Shepherd, 18-17 , the Rams cranked up the offense. Kasey Mercier and Lauren Gardner combined for four kills in a five-point stretch to build Shepherd's lead to 22-18. The Marauders rallied on kills from Alyssa Ott and Kellie Conahan, but a Kayla Walker kill coupled with a pair of attack errors from the Marauders kept Shepherd alive in the match.

Millersville had its opportunity to put Shepherd away in the fourth set. The Marauders built a 20-17 advantage and led 22-20 before Shepherd's Meg Kenny took over. With Gardner serving, Kenny ripped three kills and Gardner delivered a pair of service aces for five-straight points and a victory in the set.

Huss, the team's junior captain, took over in the fifth set, though. She tallied five or her 13 kills in the fifth set alone. Millersville led 13-10 and Shepherd started to rally, closing the gap to 13-12. Huss, however, halted the momentum with a kill, and Roman ended the set and match one point later.

Devin Fortney (11) and Mary Paul (10) joined Huss and Roman as Marauders with double-figure kills. Fortney also added a team-high 17 digs. Katie Pisano led Millersville with 22 assists.

The Marauders return to PSAC action Friday at Lock Haven. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m.