MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - Not even Friday the 13th and a full moon could stop Millersville women's volleyball from extending its year-long home winning streak to 13 matches. Millersville opened the two-day Marauder Clash with a 3-1 (25-10, 25-12, 22-25, 25-5) win over Virginia Union before polishing off a thrilling five-set win (25-20, 22-25, 225-21, 22-25, 15-12) victory over Fairmont State. 

Millersville, now 4-3, has won all three home matches this season and hasn't lost at home since the 2018 Marauder Clash. On Friday, the team was sparked by the efficient attack of Jayci Suseland, Haley Butler and Lindsey Blevins. The trio combined for 48 kills against Fairmont State and 38 against Virginia Union. 

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS: MILLERSVILLE VS. VIRGINIA UNION
•  While the match went to four sets, the Marauders were never in danger. After limiting Virginia Union to eight total kills and a negative hitting percentage in each of the one-sided first two set victories, Blevins, Suseland and Butler went to the sidelines for the third. Millersville still posted posted 16 kills in the third, but hit a match-low .143, and Virginia Union managed 12 kills to three errors for the 25-22 set win. Millersville quickly ended Virginia Union's hopes for a comeback in the fourth. Freshman Amanda Neessen delivered five kills on six swings and added a block while Suseland recorded six kills without an error on eight attacks.
•  Setter Katie Laughman totaled 51 assists. Suseland finished with 17 kills with just two errors on 22 attacks. The Marauders also totaled eight aces with Laughman, Kat Forry and Samantha Miller tallying two apiece. 

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS: MILLERSVILLE VS. FAIRMONT STATE
• Fairmont State's size at the net gave the Marauders trouble in set one with the Falcons totaling nine blocks and a 25-20 win. Millersville adjusted and came back with 15 kills to three errors in set two and 14 kills to two errors in set three. Fairmont State evened the match behind Julia DiPaola's five kills and nine digs in set four, but the Marauders' net defense proved key in set five with three blocks and forcing Fairmont State to commit six hitting errors. 
• Suseland totaled 18 kills and a .229 hitting percentage. Butler and Blevins both added 15, and Blevins completed the double-double with 13 digs. Laughman finished with 47 assists and 12 digs, while Kat Forry recorded a match-high 23 digs. Emily Hoffman came within two digs of her career high, posting 15. 
• In the deciding set, with the Marauders leading 5-4, a Fairmont State attack error started a 5-0 Marauder run that included three-straight Suseland kills. Millersville reached match point a 14-9, but Fairmont State pulled within 14-12 before an attack error clinched the match for the Marauders. 

THOUGHTS FROM COACH BRIAN SMITH
• On having experience playing in a fifth set: "It is always good to get that experience. My comment to the team after the match was that we needed that--to go to a fifth set against a good team, push back and win it. It's a big confidence builder. You don't want to go into another fifth set and lose it because then you start to think that every time you go to a fifth set you are going to come up short."
• On making adjustments after the first set vs. Fairmont State: "We made some adjustments. We have young middles. We were giving them feedback on where to square up, how to read it, develop the vision. We made some rotations where we had our middles pushed to the side. We made some adjustments when (Laughman) went to the front row to give us two pin hitters."
• On the home crowd environment: "We appreciated the football team coming. We know they have a game tomorrow but the energy level was really intense when they were here."
• On the play of the outside hitters: "They did a really good job. Blevins has been scoring a lot on the hard crosses to the line. Haley was playing smart. Jayci was cranking some balls. That was fun to see. The thing I was most pleased with is that down the stretch we started blocking better. We got some quality blocks in the fifth set. We've been working on that. There is no better feeling than a stuff block."

NOTES
• Millersville posted a season-high 60 kills in both matches. It is the first time in more than a decade that Millersville has had 60 kills in back-to-back matches. 
• Blevins has totaled double-digit kills in four consecutive matches and in five of the last six. 
• Laughman has recorded 40 or more assists four times in 2019. 

UP NEXT
•  Millersville closes play at the Marauder Clash on Saturday with a match against Roberts Wesleyan at 1 p.m., and a match against Chestnut Hill at 3 p.m.