SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - With the match on the line, the Millersville women's volleyball team was nearly perfect. The Marauders recorded nine kills without an error in the deciding fifth set to clinch a crucial road win (15-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-25, 15-13) over PSAC Southeast Division-leading Shepherd Friday night.
Shepherd entered the match with a 21-1 record and an unblemished record at home. Millersville, however, rallied after a first set loss to wins sets two and three and then bounced back again in the fifth to close out the match. The win pushed Millersville to 18-6 overall and 8-3 in league play.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• Shepherd totaled 14 more kills, six more aces and out-hit the Marauders .295 to .257, but the Marauders' 13 blocks at the net were an equalizer as was the ability to close out close sets late. Shepherd trailed just 23-20 in the second and 23-21 in the third, but both times, Millersville scored on the last two rallies. In the second, it was a kill and ace from
Lindsey Blevins, and in the third, it was back-to-back kills from Suseland and Blevins.
• Millersville trailed by as many as nine and posted its lowest hitting percentage of the match with eight kills and six errors in the fourth set but showed its resiliency by responding with a 3-0 start to the fifth. The start included a kill from
Chyna Gubbings and an ace from Blevins. Shepherd came back to tie the set at 9-9, but Millersville scored four of the next five points, using a pair of Shepherd errors and kills from Gubbings and Suseland. Millersville reached match point at 14-11 on a kill from Suseland, but Shepherd closed to within one with an Elyssia Smith kill and ace. Shepherd set up its top gun Peyton Linblad on the next rally, but Lindblad, who totaled 22 kills to three errors in the match, was denied at the net by
Haley Butler.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Butler finished with 14 kills to one error and a .406 hitting percentage. She also recorded four block assists in addition to the match-ending block solo.
• Suseland led the Marauders with 16 kills (.263).
Carley Baughman added nine kills (.286) and a team-high six block assists. Gubbings turned in an all-around performance with three block solos, three block assists, 10 digs, an ace and had five kills to one error.
• Setter
Katie Laughman finished with 43 assists and four kills on nine attempts.
COACH BRIAN SMITH'S THOUGHTS
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On the team's resiliency: "I am very pleased with that. Clearly they are learning lessons early in the season and they don't feel like they are ever out of it or emotionally down so that they play poorly. They are able to change course and focus on what they have to do. They realize they are a good enough team to get back into matches. It was important not to give up on ourselves and not give up on your teammates. That's the crucial to turning it around and winning the match."
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On making adjustments: "We had (Shepherd) on the ropes and they are 21-1 for a reason. They weren't going to give up. We did a good job of identifying where they were having success and making adjustments. Some of their middle attackers and better hitters were struggling so they started going to other players. We had to make the adjustment with the, and we did that really well going from the first to second. Winning the second gave us confidence for the rest of the match."
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On calling timeout at match point: "We had two timeouts to burn. It was to reset. It was a reminder that we are up two and have two chances to finish it out. Focus, have a good touch and finish. Don't make any unnecessary errors. It's about not panicking, and we have an advantage because we got the swing first."
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On Butler's performance: "She hit very well. She had the hot hand going into the fifth set. At the very beginning they were focusing on Jayci, and Haley stepped up and got some good swings. Jayci drew a lot of attention and was a glorious decoy for us in the fifth. Shepherd didn't want her to beat them."
NOTES
• Millersville is one of only two teams to beat Shepherd in Shepherdstown since the start of the 2018 season. The other team was a 2018 Wheeling Jesuit club that reached the NCAA Quarterfinals.
• Millersville is now 5-7 all-time against Shepherd and it is the Marauders' first win over the Rams since 2011.
• Suseland's 16 kills Friday pushed her two-season total with Millersville to 701. She has 1,327 in her career including her first two seasons at Grand Valley State. That total gives her the second-most by a player who played for Millersville.
UP NEXT
• The Marauders have a quick turnaround, traveling to Shippensburg on Saturday. The Raiders are now in first place in the PSAC Southeast with a 10-1 division record.
