ABOUT THE GAMES

• Millersville opens their season with the Marauder Clash, a tournament they have traditionally done well in. They boast a 36-6 record in the tournament since 2009. 
• Millersville returns just six of their 17 rostered players from last year after adding 12 freshmen and one transfer during this offseason. They were voted 6th in the PSAC East in the PSAC Coaches Preseason Poll, matching their finish from last season.
• This is the first time since the 2015 season that Millersville has opened their campaign with the Marauder Clash. The team entered last year's edition fresh off of a 4-0 sweep in West Chester's RamFest Invitational. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Millersville added 13 new faces to their roster this offseason. 12 of those 13 were freshmen with the sole transfer being outside hitter Taylor Welter. Just five of the 19 rostered players have more than five sets of collegiate volleyball experience.
• Juniors Emma Ludwig, Mya Cascario and Madison Von Neida are the only three upperclassmen on the team. Ludwig has been the team's starting setter since arriving as a freshman and looks to collect her 2000th career assist sometime this season. Cascario ranked third on the team in aces last season while appearing in just the eighth most sets (88). Von Neida hopes to build on a 2022 season in which she recorded 145 digs while appearing in 82 sets.
• The Marauders ended last season at 16-13 and 6-8 in the PSAC, finishing sixth in the East Division for the second consecutive season. The 2023 PSAC Preseason Volleyball Coaches Poll also ranked them sixth of eight teams. 
   

SCOUTING THE LAKERS

• Mercyhurst concluded their season with an overall record of 3-22 and 1-15 in conference play.  They finished ninth of nine teams in the PSAC West Division and they were voted in the same place in the 2023 PSAC preseason coaches poll.
• Two big departures come in the form of Zoe Gadomski and Kylie Schnars, who led the 2022 Lakers in digs and ranked second in kills, respectively.
• Even with those two departures, Mercyhurst returns most of their key offensive players. Junior Paige Miller was third on the team in kills (175), second on the team in service aces and second on the team in digs. Fifth-year players Kate Hennessy and Alexa Mitchell were also key in the stat sheet last season. Hennessy paced the Lakers in kills with 181 and Mitchell was tops in both service aces and assists.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS

• Roberts Wesleyan is coming off of a season in which they went 4-19 overall and 2-8 in conference. In the East Coast Conference (ECC) preseason coaches poll, they were voted to finish sixth of six teams. 
• Among the team's offseason additions is Freshman Julia Dufkova. Dufkova hails from Mamer, Luxembourg, where she was a member of the Women's Volleyball Team of Luxembourg. She aso played for Luxembourg's U15 (2019), U17 (2022) and U19 teams (2022).
• This is head coach Andy Braun's first season with the Redhawks. He comes from Avon Central School, where he coached for 12 seasons. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. MERCYHURST

• Millersville and Mercyhurst meet for the first time since 2021 and the 14th time overall. The Lakers hold the advantage in the all-time series thus far, leading 10-3. 11 of the 13 matchups have been either away or neutral site matches for the Marauders and they hold a 1-1 record at home. 
• THE LAST MEETING Millersville 3, Mercyhurst 1 (Sept. 3, 2021): The Marauders claimed their third victory of the rivalry in the 2021 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the first win for Millersville Women's Volleyball since Dec. 5 of 2019 against Shippensburg University,  a span of 638 days. Current Marauders Student Assistant Emily Hoffman recorded six kills and three service aces while Emma Ludwig led the team in assists with 32.

SERIES HISTORY VS. ROBERTS WESLEYAN

• This will be the first matchup between these two schools since 2019. Millersville has won 3-0 on both occasions, with the first coming in 2015.  There has been one home matchup for each side. 
• The Marauders are scheduled to face the Redhawks for a second time this season on Sept. 17th.
• THE LAST MEETING Millersville 3, Roberts Wesleyan 0 (Sept. 14, 2019): The Marauders swept the Redhawks 3-0 in a relatively uneventful match, cruising to wins of 25-14, 25-9 and 25-15 in the respective sets. They finished with 43 kills to just eight errors while limiting their opponents to 20 total kills. This was Millersville's first match on the second day of the 2019 Marauder Clash, where they went 4-0 overall.