Millersville, Pa. – Millersville's perfect record was spoiled by Philadelphia in five back-and-forth sets Tuesday evening in Pucillo Gymnasium, 25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 25-19, 17-15.

The Marauders were set back early not only on the scoreboard but also by injuries. In the first set Kayla Wallace injured her knee and never returned to action. Shortly after in set number two, Brittany Ford, who had already recorded six kills, suffered a similar fate injuring her knee and ending her night.   

In a first set that featured 13 ties, it was Philadelphia who came out on top. Millersville trailed by two when an attack error made the deficit just one at 15-16. Taylor Smith then served for three straight Marauder points as Millersville looked poised to take control of the set. The Rams responded with two points of their own and never lost the lead again winning set one, 25-22.

After dropping just its third set all season, Millersville responded in the second. Trailing by a point, (14-13) Katie Witwer stepped in for the injured Ford and served for six straight Marauder points with three of the six scores resulting from service aces. Philadelphia made it interesting at the end, cutting the deficit to two (23-21) before Smith ended the set with another ace.

Building off the momentum of set two, the Marauders came out firing in the third set taking an 8-2 lead. Philadelphia would not go away easily, however, trailing by 21-19 late. Erin Harman sent home one of her 11 kills on the night before the set ended on an error by the Rams.

Philadelphia controlled most of set four, taking a 6-5 lead early and never relinquishing it. Courtney Wensel served for three consecutive Philadelphia points to extend the lead to 21-13. Millersville responded with a charge of its own as Smith took to the serve once again cutting the deficit in half to four. Philadelphia answered when Allison Manley recorded two of the last three points via kill.

The fifth and decisive set was a nail-biter. Millersville looked in trouble early as they trailed 12-7 in the best-of-15 set. Coming out of a timeout, the Marauders responded with four points in a row. Philadelphia held a 14-13 lead when Harman sent home a kill to extend the set. Eventually, the Rams prevailed 17-15 ending the set with a kill by Corinne Justus.

The Rams were led by Emily Pilla and Allison Manley at the net all night as they both recorded double-digit kills (15, 13). Meanwhile, libero Michele Chai totaled 31 digs in the match.

Despite dropping their first match of the year (7-1), Millersville and its players fought valiantly considering the injuries to two of its top offensive players. Senior Brooklyn Smith recorded a season-high 32 digs and now stands just 53 digs away from the program's all-time record.  Freshman Grace Dawson added to her impressive first season setting up the Marauders 38 times Tuesday. Erin Harman led the team with 11 kills with Katie Witwer coming in just shy at 10. Witwer was a bright spot for Millersville from the serve recording four aces.

Millersville goes on the road next to Erie, Pa., for the site of the year's first PSAC Crossover. The Marauders take on Edinboro (2 p.m.) and Mercyhurst (7:30 p.m.) Friday before facing Slippery Rock (12:30 p.m.) and Gannon (6 p.m.) on Saturday.