WEST LIBERTY, WV. – Back on the road following their home opener, the Millersville Marauders (4-8) split their Friday double header in the West Virginia. Ville picked up a win against Notre Dame College before being swept by tournament host West Liberty in the tail end of the double header.

HOW IT HAPPENED
IN MATCH ONE
Millersville 3 – Notre Dame 1

• Notre Dame jumped out to an early 10-5 lead in the first set. Ville was able to close the gap and apply pressure, but the Falcons took the set 25-22.
• Ville again trailed in the second set as Notre Dame jumped out to a 19-11 lead. A six-point run by the Marauders closed the game to just two points. Late in the set Ville would take 12 out of 14 points on an impressive run to jump ahead 23-21. The set ended 25-22 in favor of the Marauders following the mid set comeback.
• The momentum would carry into the third set as Ville jumped ahead 7-2. Millersville was in control the entire set, cruising to a 25-14 win.
• With a chance to close of the match, the two teams battled early in the fourth set, tying things up at 11-11. A seven-point Ville run would put the Marauders ahead for good, securing the 25-20 set win and 3-1 match victory.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Ville added 10 team aces. Emily Hoffman led the team with three.
• Lauren Lucas led the team in kills with 15 while Hoffman and Caitlyn Callahan each added a dozen kills of their own.
• Emma Ludwig and Rebecca Dalstad each tallied a team high 14 digs while Hoffman had another dozen marks in her stat sheet.
• Ludwig recorded 47 assists over her four sets of work.

 
NOTES

• This was the first meeting between the two programs.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
IN MATCH TWO
West Liberty 3 – Millersville 0

• Following a five-point Ville run, the Marauders led the first set 10-8. West Liberty would answer with a five-point run of their own, taking the lead for good as Ville couldn't come back from a 13-10 deficit.
• The second set was all Hilltoppers as Liberty jumped out to an 11-2 advantage. Ville was unable to overcome the early lead and never got within five points of tying the set.
• Looking to secure the sweep, West Liberty had three large rallies in the third set, securing the match sweep with a 25-10 win.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Dalstad led Ville with 11 digs.
• Ludwig recorded 23 assists.
• Lucas led Ville with 7 kills.

 
NOTES

• This was the first meeting between the two programs.

 
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN SMITH
On the match against Notre Dame

• "We had a slow start in our first match of the day but still managed 17 kills and a .220 hitting percentage. The difference was we had 5 more hitting error and many of those early. Our play improved the second half of set one which provided the control confidence to keep pressing for the rest of the match. We have had other slow starts and erased big deficits but that's not what we want our MO to be."

 
On the match against West Liberty

• "We worked had to win our first match and had to go back-to-back which is always a challenge at this level. We competed the first set but West Liberty had a major advantage in experience, height at the net, and it felt like we were running out of steam. We didn't really have an answer for their 6'5" grad student middle who hit .619 on us. They were a solid team all around and we didn't show the ball control we had in the first match. You are not going to have success against a large team with quality blocking if you can't run faster and make them work harder."

 
UP NEXT  

• Ville is back in action for another double header tomorrow against Fairmont State and Wheeling, with first serves coming at 2:00 and 6:00 respectively.