ABOUT THE MARAUDERS
• Off to a 5-0 start for the second time in the last three seasons, Millersville aims for the best start in school history, which was set at 7-0 by the 2015 club.
• After a one year hiatus the Marauder Clash has returned to Pucillo Gymnasium. The invitational has run in some form for all but one season since 1996. Millersville has posted 4-0 records each of the last two times the event has been held. Millersville holds a 42-28 all-time record in the event. West Chester last attended the event in 2012 and owns an 8-19 record. USciences went 1-3 in 2015 and Felician has a 2-5 record in appearances in 2010 and 2015.
• Last season the Marauders went 2-9 in matches that went four or five sets. Already in 2017 the Marauders have won two four set matches including a win over reigning CACC champ and NCAA Tournament team Jefferson on Wednesday. Millersville's 12 service aces (three from
Erin Harman and
Kelsi Ceriani) were key. Harman's 17 kills were a match high and she added 11 digs for her second double-double of the season.
Kat Forry recorded a career-high 28 digs.
Katie Laughman totaled 37 assists and 13 digs.
• Millersville recorded double-digit kills in every set against Jefferson and are averaging 13.8 kills per set while opponents are averaging 8.0.
• In just five matches Harman has climbed from 10th to sixth on Millersville's career kills list. She is just 58 digs away from her 1,000th and will be just the third Marauder (Jennie Rohrbaugh and Allison Huss) to reach 1,000 kills and digs.
• After missing the first four matches with an injury, sophomore
Haley Butler returned to the lineup Wednesday and recorded 11 kills to just two errors.
• Laughman spent her freshman season as the team's libero but has served as the primary setter in three of five matches in 2017. She has acclimated nicely with assist totals of 37, 40 and 50 in those matches. She has also twice recorded double-digit digs.
ABOUT THE SERIES
• West Chester holds a slight 29-28 lead in the all-time series but Millersville won a 3-2 thriller in Pucillo Gymnasium last season. The match featured 32 tied scores and only the fourth set was decided by more than two points. Harman totaled 20 kills and
Haley Butler had a career-high 17.
• Millersville is 5-0 all-time against USciences with the last meeting coming in the 2015 Marauder Clash. The Marauders are also 3-0 against Felician. The first meting came in 2010 and the teams last met in 2015 with the Marauders winning the season opener 3-0.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
• West Chester ran away with the PSAC Southeast last season and was the landslide preseason favorite to do it again, receiving every first place vote possible in the coaches poll. Like the Marauders, the Golden Rams are off to a 5-0 start, out-hitting opponents .296-.051. West Chester has 42 service aces and has totaled 26 blocks to opponents' seven.
• USciences enters its first season under interim head coach Angie Smith. The Devils went 6-17 last season while Smith was an assistant. USciences started its season with a 3-0 win over Cheyney.
• Felician lost its first and only match of the season to Saint Rose. It managed 18 kills while committing 13 errors. Paulina Calero led the team with six kills.
