BLOOMSBURG, PA. - It was a battle of teams with 1-3 records in conference play as the Marauders traveled to Bloomsburg to take on the Huskies in a PSAC East clash. The host Huskies emerged victorious after four sets and claimed their second conference victory of the season. 
 
The teams traded leads early on in set one and remained neck and neck until the Marauders went up 18-15. The Huskies responded by scoring five straight leading to Brian Smith's first timeout of the match. The visitors battled back, evening the score at 24 and sending the set into overtime with an Emma Kerwin kill. She spearheaded the Marauder attack late in the set, gathering four kills after that Smith timeout. 
 
Neither team gave any ground as the score crept up over 30, until the Huskies managed to cobble together three straight points to claim the set 38-36.
 
Set two was much of the same, with the teams trading points until the hosts led 19-16. From that point onward, the Marauders went on a 9-3 run to take the set, 25-22. 
 
With the opportunity to take a 2-1 advantage, Millersville jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the third set. The Huskies quickly erased that advantage with a 5-0 run, however, and the conference foes returned to trading points afterwards. The turning point of the game came with the teams knotted at 20-20. Bloomsburg took the next five points in succession, part of a 6-0 run to finish the game. 
 
Bloomsburg went up by five quickly in the fourth set and never relinquished the lead, taking the match 3-1. The Marauders travel to Maryland to face Bowie State in a non-conference matchup on Oct. 10.

COACH BRIAN SMITH'S THOUGHTS

• On any effects the lengthy set one could have had: "When you have a first set like that it doesn't have that big of an effect on the match. Both teams walk away from it knowing that they can complete with each other. Now, if that's a 2nd set or a 3rd set and you go down 2-1, it makes a bigger difference."
• On his team just past the halfway point of the season: "It's hard to be disappointed when we (the coaching staff) see improvement from week to week with this young squad. There are some frustrations and inconsistencies, but we could also do a better job communicating with them at times. Sometimes it feels like we're pulling them in different directions, but that is part of having so many new players. We haven't been swept by any conference opponent, so we're competing in all these matches. We just need to learn how to finish sets."

• The all-time series between these two schools now sits at 4-3 in favor of the Marauders after the Husky victory.  
• The loss drops Millersville's PSAC East record to 1-4. With the win, Bloomsburg improves to 2-3 in conference play. 

• The first set was the longest of the season for the Marauders by a wide margin. The previous high was a 32-30 win in set one of their match against Mercyhurst on Sept. 2. 
• Emma Kerwin led the Marauders in kills(19) and Emma Ludwig led in assists (43). Elizabeth Villegas paced the squad in digs with 29.