Box Score Millersville, Pa. - The Millersville women's volleyball team avenged last season's PSAC quarterfinal loss to Lock Haven by upsetting the Bald Eagles in four sets Friday night.
Millersville dropped the first set with Lock Haven but bounced back nicely to take the match in four (21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-16). The Marauders have defeated the Bald Eagles twice in a row inside Pucillo Gymnasium.
Millersville's only lead in the first set was 6-4 before the visitors used an 11-3 run to take the lead back, 15-9 and force a timeout from Marauder head coach Brian Smith. Millersville never cut the deficit below three, though, and dropped the set 21-25.
The Bald Eagles' opened the second set on a 5-2 run before the hosts regained the advantage with a 12-5 run of their own to pull out in front 14-9. The run was fueled by a pair of kills from Mary Paul and six errors on behalf of Lock Haven. The visitors then scored 11 of the next 14 points to take a 20-17 lead and backed the Marauders into a corner. Millersville came out swinging though scoring eight of the final nine points to win the set 25-21. Paul tallied three kills in the stretch to aid the onslaught.
The third set saw eight total ties but the home team was unable to take the lead until it went up 17-16. After two straight points from the Bald Eagles and the lead was gone, coach Smith called a timeout. The breather was exactly what the Marauders needed as they closed the match with an 8-3 run to take the set 25-21.
Millersville was unstoppable in the fourth set and opened with a 7-1 run to force a timeout by Lock Haven. Katie Lesinski sent home three kills to support the offensive furry. The Bald Eagles used the timeout to their advantage and cut the deficit to three, 8-5. Lock Haven couldn't get any closer than that as the Marauders went on to win the set 25-16 and the match in four sets. Millersville posted a sizzling hitting percentage of .455 in the set and didn't commit a single error to go with 15 kills. Five different Marauders registered at least two kills in the set including Lesinski (5), Kayla Wallace (4), Rebecca Roman (3), Emily Kaledas (2), and Taylor Smith (2).
Lesinski and Wallace led the offense with 11 kills apiece and Roman chipped in 10. Roman has been on fire for Millersville sending home double-digit kills in four of her last five matches. The senior reached that mark only twice in the first 18 matches of the season. Jessica Franz was the assist leader with 25 and 16 more came from Erika Smith. On defense, Brooklyn Smith accumulated 24 digs and Lesinski added 11. Roman and Mary Paul each blocked six attacks.
Millersville takes on PSAC newcomer Pitt-Johnstown Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Pucillo Gymnasium.
