MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Other than a brief moment in the third set, Friday night's PSAC volleyball match between Millersville and Bloomsburg was controlled entirely by the homestanding Marauders, who won 25-16, 25-14, 25-22 for their 20th consecutive victory at Pucillo Gymnasium.
The Marauders improved to 19-7 overall and 9-4 in PSAC play with the win while Bloomsburg dropped to 8-18 overall and 3-10 in PSAC play. The Marauders' 19 wins are the most for the program since 1998, and on Saturday, they have a chance to crack the 20-win mark for the first time since 1997 and for just the fourth time in program history.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
• Millersville dominated the match statistically, totaling 41 kills with a .210 hitting percentage while Bloomsburg mustered 27 kills to 19 errors and a .070 hitting percentage. The Marauders trailed for only one serve in the first two sets. In the third, Bloomsburg led by as many as four at 16-12 and as late as 18-16 before Millersville scored six unanswered and pulled away for the sweep.
• Millersville was sharp to start, posting 16 kills and a .400 hitting percentage in the first period. The Marauders called
Jayci Suseland's number nine times and she terminated six times without an error.
Katie Laughman assisted on 13 of the 16 as well. After falling behind 5-4 early, Millersville scored on 14 of the next 16 rallies and led by as many as 12 points.
• Suseland delivered seven of the team's 13 kills in the second set as Millersville ran away with an 11-point win in the second. The Marauders overcame 10 hitting errors and a .050 hitting percentage in the third set win by turning to
Lindsey Blevins late, who finished with seven of the team's 12 kills. Trailing 18-17, Blevins tied up the match with a kill and added four more--including the match-winner--as the Marauders finished on an 8-4 run.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Suseland totaled 13 kills and Blevins finished with 12. Laughman posted 30 assists and tied for the team lead with 10 digs.
Kat Forry and
Emily Hoffman also had 10 digs each.
• Millersville's three service aces were its fewest since match four of the season back on Sept. 7. Two of them came from
Chyna Gubbings.
COACH BRIAN SMITH'S THOUGHTS
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On bouncing back from the loss in the last match: "We weren't overwhelmed by the loss on Saturday. It was a tough weekend, playing to No. 1 seeds in 16 hours. But we were ready to play tonight. It's always nice to be home. It looked on paper to be an easier weekend for us but the focus for us was to not take it for granted. That's the tendency when you think you have a better match-up. We started off strong. We got a little unfocused in the third set but we got it done."
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On playing at home: "With our conference being so spread out, travel does effect you, especially when you are playing back-to-back nights. You are in a better routine at home. We are comfortable here. We take a lot of pride in winning here. We've had a great crowd and that's always a plus for us."
•
Thoughts on the team's performance: "I thought the girls made some adjustments on their own. For example, their middles got a couple of points hitting deep and we kept saying 'pull that block over.' (
Carley Baughman) did and she got two blocks down the stretch and made Bloomsburg's middle not take the shot she wanted to...It was an all-around team win. Everyone contributed. We knew coming in that Bloomsburg was scrappy so we couldn't fall asleep defensively. Our libero and defensive specialists did a good job picking things up and feeding our hitters."
NOTES
• Seven of Millersville's 10 home wins this season have come in straight sets.
• Laughman's double-double was her team-leading 18th of the season.
• Gubbings has recorded an ace in seven consecutive matches.
UP NEXT
• Millersville plays the second match of a home back-to-back on Saturday against Lock Haven. Match time is set for 1 p.m.
