Millersville, Pa. - The Marauders didn't start PSAC play like they would have wanted as they dropped their two opening matches to Clarion in three sets and Indiana (Pa.) in four. However, in the third set against IUP, Katie Lesinski became the eighth member of Millersville's 1,000 kill club and now has 1,004 in her career.

The undefeated Golden Eagles (10-0, 2-0 PSAC) proved why the received votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll by sweeping the Marauders (6-4, 0-2 PSAC) with set scores of 25-21, 25 18 and 25-13. In the nightcap, the Crimson Hawks (5-4, 1-1 PSAC) needed extra play to defeat Millersville and did so with set scores of 19-25, 25-12, 27-29, 25-23, and 10-15.

In the first set against Clarion, the Golden Eagles were up 5-2 early and maintained the lead until the Marauders were able to tie the score up, 13-13. That came as part of an 8-2 run for the home team to put it up 15-13 and Clarion called a timeout to talk things over. Millersville tallied three service aces in that stretch alone including two from Taylor Smith and another by Brooklyn Smith. The visitors then reeled of 12 of the final 18 points to take the first set. The Golden Eagles hit a blistering .343 with 15 kills to only three errors on 35 chances in the first stanza.

Clarion was up 3-1 to begin the second set before the Marauders embarked on a 10-3 run to take an 11-6 advantage and the Golden Eagles called a timeout to regroup. After the breather, Clarion finished up the set on a 19-7 run to go up two sets to none in the match.

The away team owned the third set from the get go and opened on a 17-6 run before Millersville's head coach Brian Smith called a timeout. The Marauders fought valiently with a 5-2 run of their own but the Golden Eagle attack was too much to handle. Clarion locked up the set and the match with a 6-2 run.

Kayla Wallace led Millersville with seven kills while Victoria Biggins aided the offense with 18 assists. Defensively, Brooklyn Smith accumulated 14 kills, Lesinski added 10 and Emily Kaledas assisted on four blocks.

The match between the Marauders and IUP was an absolute thriller that saw a combined 28 ties and 15 lead changes. The Crimson Hawks opened the first set with the lead and held it until Millersville tied the score up, 8-8. That came as part of a 10-4 run and the Marauders took the lead, 13-10. That run was fueled by six IUP miscues. Millersville then outscored the Crimson Hawks 12-9 to close out the set and was up one set to none.

In the second set, IUP was up by as many as 11, 18-7 before a Marauder timeout. Millersville couldn't catch up though and the Crimson Hawks took the second set by a 13-point margin. IUP hit .304 with nine kills and two errors on 23 total attacks in that set.

The home team opened the third set on a 15-7 run before the Crimson Hawks tied things up at 16-16 with a 9-1 run of their own including eight straight at one point. From there on out, neither team had a lead of more than two points before IUP did to take the set and a two sets to one lead.

The Marauders were up 13-4 to begin the fourth set until the Crimson Hawks used an 11-1 run to reclaim a 15-14 lead. The set saw seven more ties before Millersville tallied the final two points to tie the match up at two sets apiece. 

The Marauders led 2-0 to begin the fifth and deciding set and led again at 6-5 but IUP took the advantage again and didn't look back to take the stanza by five points and the match in five sets. 

Erin Harman sent home 15 kills while both Lesinski and Mary Paul each had 10 apiece. Biggins had 40 assists, Brooklyn Smith dug out 26 balls, Wallace assisted in four blocks, and Paul had one solo block to go with three assisted.

Millersville continues play in the PSAC Crossover on Saturday against Seton Hill (10 a.m.) and California (6 p.m.).