Millersville, Pa. - Millersville won its fifth consecutive home match and improved to 8-1 in Pucillo Gymnasium with a 3-1 win (25-19, 25-15, 18-25, 25-19) over a scrappy Bloomsburg squad Saturday afternoon.

Millersville has now won eight of its last 11 matches, improving to 9-6 overall and 4-2 in PSAC play. It is Millersville's best start to conference play since 2002 and the best since the league expanded beyond two divisions. Bloomsburg dropped to 4-11 (0-6 PSAC).

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• Millersville overcame a slow start to the first set, falling behind 7-3 before a Brian Smith timeout changed the momentum. The Marauders answered by scoring six points in the next seven rallies. Later, with Millersville holding a 19-18 edge, Lindsey Blevins recorded three kills, Jayci Suseland added one and Katie Laughman delivered a service ace to close the set in quick order. Blevins posted seven kills and no errors on 14 swings in the set.
• Millersville rolled in the set set, posting 13 kills and a .235 hitting percentage with a pair of service aces while Bloomsburg mustered six kills and six errors. Millersville raced to 7-2 lead in the third using three kills from Haley Butler and one from both Chyna Gubbings and Blevins. However, with Emma Van Arsdale serving, Bloomsburg scored six unanswered and continued to pull away. The Huskies finished the set with 14 kills to just two errors (.309) and totaled three blocks.
• But in the fourth set, after falling behind 1-0, Millersville scored three in a row and never again trailed. Bloomsburg had no answer for Jayci Suseland, who totaled five kills on eight swings in the set.

COACH BRIAN SMITH QUOTES
• "We played well. That third set we got sloppy. Their libero is very impressive. We were hitting balls with pace, some really intense shots. She was digging everything and really kept them in the match."
• "We talked about [Bloomsburg as a first-year program] before the match. I showed the team who Bloomsburg had lost to and that it was by two and three points. They can compete. If you show up and don't play well, anybody is in the match. That's what happened to us in the third set. We came out in the first two sets and took care of business. In the third set we got too relaxed."
• "In between the third and fourth sets I just reminded them that we are still a young team and not quite good enough yet to take sets off like that. We are getting into a critical point where we start to play our (PSAC) pod. I truly believe that we can step onto the court and compete with any team in the PSAC, but we have to be on our game. I wasn't pleased with the third set, but it is a character builder. We got to find out how we respond."

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
• Four Marauders totaled double-digit kills. Kat Forry led the group with 20.
• Katie Laughman contributed 42 assists, nine digs, two service aces, two kills, a block solo and a block assist.
• Blevins finished with a match-high 16 kills and added 11 digs. Suseland totaled 14 kills and two block solos. Butler posted a season-high 11 kills.

NOTES
• Emily Hoffman's 17 digs were a career high.
• 2018 is Bloomsburg's first season with volleyball. Saturday's match was the first-ever between Millersville and Bloomsburg.
• Laughman has gone eight consecutive matches with a kill while not committing a hitting error.
• Blevins' 16 kills were her most since Sept. 7--a span of eight matches.

UP NEXT
• Saturday was Millersville's final home match until Friday, Oct. 26. Millersville's next seven matches--all PSAC match-ups--are on the road. The road stretch begins at West Chester on Oct. 2.

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