Millersville, Pa. - For the first time since 1999, Millersville women's volleyball is a PSAC divisional champion. The Marauders and East Stroudsburg entered Saturday's match in Pucillo Gymnasium in a tie for first place, and the Marauders rolled to a 3-0 sweep (25-13, 25-22, 25-18).
The Marauders (16-11, 11-7 PSAC) closed the season by winning five consecutive matches--all at home--and posting a 13-1 record inside Pucillo Gymnasium. Millersville posted its first above .500 record against PSAC competition since 2005, and that was in an era when only in-division matches counted toward the conference record. Also, Millerville head coach
Brian Smith scored his 138th career win, moving him to the top of Millersville's career wins list.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• Millersville recorded 45 kills to East Stroudsburg's 31 and hit over .300 in every set. The Marauders totaled 16 kills to four errors and both the second and third sets. Millersville hit .312 for the second consecutive match.
• Millersville received a kill from six players while East Stroudsburg totaled just six kills in the one-sided first-set win.
• Play evened in the second set, and the score stood tied as late as 21-21. The teams traded points until an attack error and a
Jayci Suseland kill put the Marauders up, 2-0.
Lindsey Blevins had seven kills and no errors in the second.
• The third set was all Marauders. Millersville raced to a 10-2 lead with five kills and a service ace from
Emily Hoffman. Millersville led by as many as seven and ESU never came closer than four.
COACH BRIAN SMITH QUOTES
• "It feels really good. if you look at the numbers, this is the first time in how many years we have been above .500 in the PSAC, and back then they didn't play teams from the West. What they accomplished is pretty special."
• "We have a great fan base and the team loves playing at home. That [13-1 record] is phenomenal. I wish we could go into the playoffs and play at home."
• "Every player on the team just kept getting better and better and the team got better and better as the season progressed. That's what you are looking for: progress and improvement."
• "[East Stroudsburg] is a really athletic team, and when you get teams like that you have to focus on serving aggressively and getting them out of system. You have to play aggressively and not give them opportunities to use their height. The first time we played them, it was a big challenge going on the road. After sweeping them on the road, we had confidence that we could do it again."
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
• Blevins led Millersville with 15 kills and a .389 hitting percentage, committing just one error in 36 attacks.
• Suseland and
Haley Butler both tallied 10 kills.
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Katie Laughman totaled 38 assists and eight digs.
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Kat Forry posted a match-high 23 digs.
NOTES
• Millersville swept the season series with East Stroudsburg for the second time in the last three years.
• Butler tallied double-digit kills for the third consecutive match. She totaled 33 kills to eight errors in 72 attempts in that stretch.
• Suseland finished the regular season with 363 kills, which is tied for sixth-most all-time. Laughman's 965 assists is tied for sixth all-time.
UP NEXT
• Millersville enters the PSAC Tournament as the No. 7 seed and travels to Shippensburg on Tuesday, Nov. 6.
FOLLOW THE MARAUDERS
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