ABOUT THE MARAUDERS
• The final weekend of the regular season features matches at Pucillo Gymnasium between three of the top-six ranked teams in the NCAA Atlantic Region. Those teams also happen to all be members of the ultra-competitive PSAC Southeast Division. Millersville, currently ranked fourth in the region and tied for fourth in the PSAC standings, hosts division-leading and region's No. 3 Shippensburg on Friday before closing out the regular season against the team it is tied with--Shepherd. All three teams have at least 23 in-region wins and are looking to secure an NCAA Tournament bid with a strong finish. Shippensburg is playing for the top overall seed in the PSAC Tournament. Millersville and Shepherd are playing for the right to host a first round match.Â
• Millersville has won 22 consecutive matches in Pucillo Gymnasium, and the last team it to win in Pucillo was Shepherd way back on Sept. 8, 2019. Millersville is now 12-0 at home this season and is one win away from tying the program record for wins in a season.Â
• Millersville, Shippensburg and Shepherd rank as three of the top four offensive clubs in the PSAC. Millersville ranks second in hitting percentage (.235) while Shippensburg (.211) is third and Shepherd (.207) is fourth. Those teams are also three of the top in kills.Â
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Jayci Suseland is five kills away from Millersville hall of famer Abby Hafer's single-season school record of 403 which was set in 1995. Suseland has already joined Hafer as the only players in program history with two seasons with 385 or more kills. Hafer's career total of 1,413 kills has stood as a school record since 1995. With 782 kills in two seasons as a Marauder, combined with her two-year total from Grand Valley State, Suseland has 1,410 kills--three away from Hafer's total.Â
• Setter
Katie Laughman ranks fourth in the PSAC in total assists with 1,071. She is 46 assists away from topping the single-season record of 1,116 set by Missy Rauhauser in 1992. Laughman has already joined Rauhauser as the only two players in program history with two seasons of 1,000 assists, and she is the only player in program history with three seasons of 900 assists.Â
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Lindsey Blevins has 987 career kills and needs just 13 more to become the 10th player in program history with 1,000 career kills.Â
SERIES HISTORY
Series vs. Shippensburg: 27-40
Series Streak: Ship, 3
First Meeting: 1990 (L, 0-3)
Last Meeting: 2019 (L, 0-3)
Last 10 Meetings: 2-8
Brian Smith vs. Ship: 3-17
• Shippensburg has gone 21-3 against Millersville since the start of the 2006 season. Millersville's last win in the series came on Nov. 7, 2017 at Shippensburg by a 3-1 score. Last season, Millersville traveled to Shippensburg twice, falling 3-0 in the regular season before a five-set loss in the PSAC Tournament. The last time Shippensburg made a trip to Pucillo Gymnasium was in October of 2017. Shippensburg won the match in four sets. Shippensburg won the first meeting by a 3-0 score (25-21, 25-19, 28-26). The Raiders totaled 50 kills to Millersville's 36 and limited Suseland to eight kills and a .143 hitting percentage.Â
Series vs. Shepherd: 5-7
Series Streak: Ville, 1
First Meeting: 1997 (L, 1-3)
Last Meeting: 2019 (W, 3-2)
Last 10 Meetings: 4-6
Brian Smith vs. Shepherd: 3-2
• Shepherd is in its first season as a member of the PSAC. On Oct. 25, Millersville went to Shepherd and won in five sets (15-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-25, 15-13). Shepherd totaled 14 more kills, out-hit the Marauders .295 to .257 and also posted 10 aces to Millersville's four.
Haley Butler posted 14 kills to one error for the Marauders.
Kat Forry also had four aces in the match. Shepherd won in its last trip to Pucillo Gymnasium in 2018.Â
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
• Shippensburg has won nine in a row and hasn't lost since Oct. 18 against Gannon. During the winning streak, five wins have come in straight sets. Shippensburg is 10-1 in true road matches. Gabriella Johnson leads the team and ranks ninth in the PSAC in kills with 3.25 per set. Samantha Webber ranks 13th in kills and also is third in hitting percentage. Setter Emily Hangen ranks third in assists with 10.92 per set.Â
• Of Shepherd's four losses, two came against Shippensburg and one to Millersville. The Rams have no lost in three sets this season. The Rams lead the PSAC in total aces with 230 and rank second in aces per set. They also rank second in blocks per set at 2.23. Georgia Ohmke is second in the league in blocks, averaging 1.16 per set. Peyton Linblad is the top offensive threat with 3.41 kills per set, which is eighth in the PSAC.Â
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