Box Score Millersville, Pa. – The Marauders came into Friday night's match against Kutztown looking to break a few losing streaks. The team was limping into the match with a four-match losing skid and hadn't beaten the Golden Bears since the final match of the 2009 season.
 
Fortunately for Millersville, Kutztown came to town on its own four-match losing streak, and the Marauders made sure Kutztown's losing streak was the one that hit five and ended their own head-to-head losing streak by beating the visitors 3-2 for only their second home win of the season.
 
It was a back-and-forth match, but Millersville saw its record improve to 7-8 and 1-4 in PSAC East matches. After the home team took a 1-0 lead with a 25-12 first set victory, Kutztown rallied to tie the score at 1-1 by winning the second set 25-17. The Marauders then put the Golden Bears on the ropes, going up 2-1 after winning the third set by a 25-20 score.
 
The Golden Bears were down but not out, as they rallied and won the fourth set 25-15 to force a deciding fifth set. Millersville's young team came of age and came away with its first PSAC win of the year by taking the tiebreaking set with a 15-12 nail biter. The Marauders got a career-high 17 kills from freshman Samantha Agostini, who stepped up and hit an efficient .303 to pace the offense.
 
Jessica Franz continued her brilliant start to the 2012 season as she adjusts to her new hitters. The junior collected her fifth double-double of the young season with a match-high 43 assists and 15 digs. To round out her performance, the New Freedom native also chipped in a match-high three service aces. Another veteran also stepped up for Millersville in the form of Sue Caramanico, who finished with 14 digs and a service ace.
 
But the youth was vital in getting the Marauders their seventh win of the year, as three more freshmen made an impact on the defensive side of the net for Millersville against the Golden Bears, with Brooklyn Smith providing a match-best 18 digs and Emily Kaledas and Kayla Wallace blocked five kill attempts apiece.
 
Millersville started strong out of the gate and set the pace for the match. The Marauders hit .519 in the first set with 17 kills against just three errors on 27 attempts. From there, however, the match turned into a defensive battle, and the young home team proved it could hang. Millersville won despite finishing with a .076 hitting percentage as a team. Kutztown players hit just .073 collectively and didn't top .241 in any set.
 
The Marauders have a week off before getting back on the court next Friday in their second and final PSAC Crossover of the season. The team takes on Indiana (Pa.) at 2 p.m. and Slippery Rock at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 5 and then travels to Clarion next Saturday to play California (Pa.) at 12:30 p.m. and Clarion at 6 p.m. on Oct. 6.