MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – The Marauders battled for five sets against the Dominican University Chargers on Saturday, coming away with the victory after taking the final two sets of play.
  
This was just the second time all season Millersville (13-10, 3-5 PSAC) has gone the distance to play five sets and the first five set win for the Marauders. The Chargers (9-12, 7-5 CACC) have played five sets four times this season, going 1-3 in those matches. Play was even throughout the match as two of the five sets went into overtime and three sets were decided by the minimum two points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
(27-25, 25-15, 27-25, 25-18, 15-13)

• Dominican got off to a fast start, jumping ahead 6-0 in the first set. The Marauders forced four ties but didn't take their first lead until late in the set as they went ahead 19-18 on a kill from Caroline Halsey. The Marauders had their chances to close out the set, going ahead 24-21 on an Emma Ludwig ace. The Chargers scored four straight points to retake the lead at 25-24. A Rose Vail kill set up overtime as she tied the set at 25. The Chargers took the set after recording kills on the final two points.
• The Chargers carried the momentum into the beginning of set two, leading 6-4 early on. 'Ville would take six of the next seven points to move ahead 10-7 on a Kylie Airesman ace. After the lead fell to one (10-9) Millersville took over the second half of the set. The Chargers did not produce a rally the rest of the way as the Marauders cruised to a 25-15 win to even the match at 1-1.
• Vail continued her strong performance at the beginning of set three as she recorded three early kills to put the Marauders ahead 4-2. Millersville led by as many as six (14-8) but a second half surge from the Chargers erased the lead as they scored seven of eight to force a tie at 20. A pair of attacking errors put 'Ville ahead 23-22 but the Marauders were unable to put the Chargers away. Dominican was the first to 25, and Vail again came through for the Marauders to force a tie at 25. Just like the first set, the Chargers took the final two points in overtime, as they moved ahead 2-1 in the match.
• The Marauders picked up the pace in the fourth set, as the team led nearly the entire way, taking the lead for good on a kill by Laurel Samko that put 'Ville ahead 2-1. The Chargers kept the set close early, getting within one at 15-14. The Marauders took five of the next six points to lead 20-15. Airesman picked up a pair of late kills in the set to put the Marauders ahead 24-16. Ludwig ended the set with a kill to tie the match 2-2.
• The fifth set was the closest from start to finish, with no team leading by more than three. Dominican took the first real lead of the set, going ahead 9-6. The Marauders took five of the next six points to take an 11-10 lead on another kill from Airesman. Leading 14-11, the Marauders again struggled to take the final point as the Chargers took two straight to cut the lead to one. An attacking error ended the match as Millersville won 15-13.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Vail and Samko both set new career highs in kills with 19 and 15, respectively. Airesman was also in double figures with 11.
• Samko led the team with three aces as the Marauders recorded nine aces as a team.
• Rylee Thomas set a new career high in blocks with six. That mark is good for the top Marauder total this season.
• Ludwig recorded a season high in assists with 50, falling just two shy of her career best.
• Becca Dalstad (13) and Airesman (10) both reached double figures in digs.
• The Marauders are now 4-0 all time against the Chargers.

REACTION FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN SMITH
On set one: "The team fought its way through some inconsistency to muscle out a win against Dominican today. We started out slow allowing them to take a 7-1 lead. I figured I'd let the team work into the match and by mid-way we had corrected ourselves and started playing better. We ended set one hitting well (.286) but gave our opponent confidence and they got the first set in a back-and-forth finish."
 
On set two: "Set two was a dominant performance by the team. We continued to hit well (.296) and served tough, and they struggled a bit. Even with 4-5 serving errors in set two we managed a decisive 25-15 win."
 
On sets three and four: "Set three was a battle with both teams hitting well and both teams generating 17 kills. Set four was perhaps the worse for both teams offensively but we managed a comfortable lead and pushed the match with a 25-18 win."
 
On the decisive fifth set: "Fifth sets are always a toss-up, and we lose Rylee Thomas late in the fourth with an Injury. Based on how the match had gone to that point I felt it would be close. Dominican jumped out to a lead and maintained a two-point advantage till I believe 10-10. In the end we had our best hitting percentage on the day (.360) at the right time and used our bench to keep pressure on them with substituting in some of our good servers."
 
On the overall match: "Winning isn't always pretty. We hit .268 as a team and that helped us when we struggled in areas that we are normally more consistent in. Caroline, Kylie, Laurel and Rose had good numbers. Emma had eight kills which might be a high for our setter and at key moments in the match which was nice to see."
 
UP NEXT

• The Marauders head back on the road next weekend to take on Bloomsburg and Lock Haven on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The Marauders return home on Oct. 26 to face the Chestnut Hill Griffins.