MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - When the attack wasn't quite clicking, Millersville used its defensive effort and passing to find a way in Saturday's 3-0 (28-26, 25-17, 25-17) sweep of visiting Slippery Rock. The Marauders set a three-set season high with 72 digs and held The Rock to a .099 hitting percentage for their 19th consecutive win inside Pucillo Gymasium. 

Led by Kat Forry's 20, three Marauders finished with double-digit digs. Millersville won its third-straight match and improved to 17-6 overall and 7-3 in the PSAC. Slippery Rock fell to 7-14 (2-8 PSAC). 

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• Millersville, the PSAC's leader in hitting percentage, hit just .176 in the first set, totaling 13 kills on 51 attempts. But The Marauders dug out 29 Slippery Rock attacks, and dug deep late, even fending off a Slippery Rock set point. Millersville led 24-23, but The Rock evened the score on a Kaley Fucci kill. Jayci Suseland and Chyna Gubbings combined for a block to Millersville back on top, 25-24. The Rock, however got another kill from Fucci, and a Millersville hitting error put The Rock a point away from stealing the set. Suseland, however, responded. A kill off a feed from Katie Laughman tied the score. A Slippery Rock error put Ville one point away, and Suseland and Carley Baughman denied an Erinn Kahoe attempt at the net for the set-winner. 
• Sets two and three were all Millersville. The Marauders out-hit The Rock .286-.093 in the second and .344-.167 in the third. Millersville's 17 kills in the third were nearly as many as Slippery Rock's 18 over the final two sets. Millersville led by as many as nine in the second and by as many as 12 in the third. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Along with Forry's 20 digs, Lindsey Blevins recorded a season-high 19. Katie Laughman chipped in 10 to go with her 36 assists, one block solo, two block assists and two kills. 
• Suseland was the lone Marauder with double-digit kills, tallying 15 to four errors with a .440 hitting percentage. She also tied Baughman for a match-high three block assists. 
• Gubbings led the team with two aces. 

COACH BRIAN SMITH'S THOUGHTS
• On the team's defensive effort: "After the first set, we looked at the stats and our passing wasn't where we wanted it to be. We did struggle a little bit with unforced errors. What I like about this team is that they find a way to win. They are scrappy defensively and matched Slippery Rock's intensity, because they are scrappy defensively. That inspired us to start playing better down the stretch. 
• On winning close sets: "They've been in that situation before. Early in the season we played against a lot of good teams and in a lot of close matches. We've talked about being in a match, not just a game or not just a point. I like the fact that they don't seem to panic. It's more us than what our opponent is doing."
• On the play of Rebecca Dalstad and Emily Hoffman: "They absolutely have (stepped up). The last three matches, the passing has been really good. Kat and Rebecca have been passing at a ridiculous percentage and Emily has been playing really solid defense. Rebecca is a freshman. She's more comfortable now having played a lot of ball as a starter. They are working better together as a unit. 
• On what Laughman brings to the team: "She is incredibly athletic. She is one of the most underrated players in the PSAC. She really is a first/second team type of player with her athleticism. You get into the match today, there were opportunities twice for Slippery Rock with overpasses to ram it down our throats, and Katie goes up and wins the joust against a 6-2 middle."

NOTES
• Gubbins has recorded 20 of her 23 aces in the last nine matches. During that stretch, she has had just six service errors. 
• Millersville's 7-3 start in league play is the program's best since it went 7-3 playing exclusively against PSAC East opponents in 2001. 
• While Slippery Rock is 21-10 all-time against the Marauders, Millersville has now won five in a row in the series. 

UP NEXT
• Millersville now hits the road for back-to-back matches against PSAC Southeast Division-leading Shepherd and Shippensburg. The Marauders are at Shepherd on Friday, Oct. 25 and travel to Shippensburg on Saturday, Oct. 26.