MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – At this time of year, every match and every win matters. The Millersville women's volleyball kept itself right in the thick of the PSAC Tournament mix by sweeping Lock Haven (25-23, 25-17, 25-9) Saturday in Pucillo Gymnasium. The Marauders polished off a home back-to-back with two key PSAC East wins and now find themselves sitting one match out of the playoffs with four matches remaining.
Saturday showed the continued maturation and development of a youthful roster as the Marauders closed out the tightly-contested first set with a strong finish, overcame a slow start to set two and avoided a letdown in the third set with a dominating 14-point margin of victory. Freshmen
Caitlyn Callahan (15 kills) and
Lauren Lucas (12 kills) powered Millersville's attack.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The opening saw neither team build a lead of more than three points until the Marauders took a 23-19 advantage and extend it to 24-19 on an
Emma Ludwig ace. Lock Haven, used a pair of aces, two kills and a Millersville attack error to pull within one point at 24-23. Lucas, however, clinched the Millersville win with a kill on the next serve.
• Trouble with serve reception put the Marauders in an 11-4 hole to start the second set. Trailing 12-6,
Emily Hoffman stepped in to serve, and the Marauders ripped off five consecutive points. The stretch included a pair of aces. Millersville took the lead for the first time in the set at 15-14 on a Callahan kill. The teams traded points until at 19-17, Lucas finished off a Ludwig set. Trailing, Lock Haven struggled with passing and committed three errors on poorly executed sets. Callahan added an ace and
Sarah Leininger closed the set with a kill. Millersville hit brilliantly in the set, recording 14 kills with just one error for a .448 hitting percentage.
• The lopsided third set belonged to Callahan. She had a hand in four blocks and recorded seven of Millersville's 12 kills, and contributed on eight of Millersville's final 10 points. Millersville raced to an 8-1 lead and led by as many 15 points.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Callahan hit .524 and posted five block assists and two block solos. Lucas was also efficient, recording 12 kills and just one error on 26 attacks for a .423 hitting percentage.
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Becca Dalstad led Millersville with 24 digs. Ludwig totaled 27 assists.
• Millersville totaled six aces with Callahan and Hoffman recording two each.
REACTION FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN SMITH
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On overcoming the slow start: "We did start off slow in the match, likely a by-product of a tough battle last night. It was a little disappointing as we talked about not letting that happen. But getting dialed in on our control allowed us to overcome that slow start in set two."
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On the importance of the last two wins: "Overall, we executed very well this weekend and had a number of solid, sustained runs. The squad is improving as well as managing the games and pressure better."
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On Callahan's performance in the third set: "We improved our passing after we had the slow start to set two. We went Caitlyn hitting more. Our control allowed us to use her and when you have a team against the ropes it's nice having someone be the exclamation point. Caitlyn can be that type of player."
NOTES
• The win was Millersville's second sweep of the season. Both sweeps have come against Lock Haven. Millersville's .284 hitting percentage was a season-high.
• Millersville has won three of its last four matches.
• Callahan has recorded double-digit kills in four-straight matches
UP NEXT
• Millersville travels to Kutztown for a PSAC East match on Friday, Nov. 5.
