MILLERSVILLE, Pa.- Friday was a learning experience for the 2023 edition of the Millersville Women's Volleyball team, as they dropped both ends of their doubleheader to Wilmington and Rollins by scores of 3-1 and 3-0, respectively. After taking the first set of this year's Marauder Clash, the Marauders dropped the next six.   
 

MATCH ONE: 

vs. Wilmington (25-22, 25-14, 25-14, 25-23)
 
The first set was tight from the outset, as the two teams were knotted at 1-1, 3-3 and 4-4 before the Marauders took the next two points behind kills by Caroline Halsey and Sam White. They were able to extend their lead to 11-6 with service aces from Emma Ludwig and Paige Horst.  
 
The Wildcats remained at arm's length until three straight Millersville errors suddenly gave their opponents the lead at 20-19. Emma Kerwin responded to the call with an emphatic kill on the next rally to knot the game back up. A few errors on each side made it 22-22, but the Marauders closed their first set of the season out with a three-point run punctuated by kills from Kerwin and Taylor Welter. 
 
The themes of the next two sets were similar; Wilmington found their groove at the net and Millersville was not able to keep up. After trailing 4-3, two separate Wildcat 4-0 runs put the Marauders in a 15-6 hole. Shannen Litten recorded three total blocks in that stretch en route to a match-high eight total blocks. 
 
The blocks were something that head coach Brian Smith noticed as well. "Wilmington had an amazing blocking team. They were very disciplined and they got across the net really well. Our team got a chance to see two teams that really know how to block well." He also recognized that on a team that has 13 new players, it is something that will take time for the Marauders to improve on. 
 
"Blocking is a skill that takes a lot of practice. You're always blocking in at least tandems most of the time. So it takes timing, it takes a lot of trust and moving with your partner out to block." 
 
Millersville had an early 6-4 lead in set three, but a Wilmington 6-0 run followed by a pair of five-point spurts gave the Wildcats a one-set advantage. In that set, Elizabeth Villegas made her collegiate debut and collected two diving digs in her first three points. "We were pleased. There are girls that want to win, and then there are girls that will run through the wall to do it," Smith remarked on Villegas' debut.  "She's that girl where if you give her that chance, she's not gonna let go of it."
 
Villegas would move to Libero to begin the next set, replacing Madison Von Neida. Coach Smith said that it wasn't based on performance, but more of being able to see what they have in the freshman. 
 
"It was nice to be able to make those decisions when the girl you just replaced had a good game. However, you don't always have enough time to communicate that in between (sets). It's time to just make good decisions. But it wasn't because of their poor performance.
 
The Marauders held leads of 9-5 and 12-8 in the final set, but errors again let their opponents claim a 15-13 lead on the strength of another 5-0 run. Four of the five points were due to Millersville miscues. The same exact script would play out later in the game, as Wilmington was able to take a 23-20 lead on the back of a 5-0 run. Again, mistakes led to four of the five Wilmington points and the eventual match-ender. 
 

MATCH TWO:

vs. Rollins (19-25, 15-25, 24-26)

The back half of Friday's doubleheader was less eventful than the first, as Rollins handed the Marauders their second loss of the day in three straight sets. Millersville put up a valiant effort in the first set, knotting the score at 7 before allowing Rollins to put up five straight points. Smith called timeout down 24-15 and his young team responded, putting up four straight points of their own capped by a Kalia Espenlaub kill and a Sam White kill. 
 
Set two was a much different story, as 11 of the game's first 13 points went to the visitors. The Marauders were able to take advantage of a few Rollins miscues to pull to within five at 16-11, but the Tars were able to win the set by 10. 
 
The final set of the day was more like the first. After a Rollins kill put them up two at 18-16, Becca Hartranft took over. She gathered the next two Millersville points on kills and finished the game accounting for four of the team's final eight scores. If not for a crucial error up 24-23, the Marauders would have pushed an impressive Rollins team to a fourth set. 
 
"The Rollins team is really good. (...) I was really pleased with the way we played the second match, which was very scrappy," Smith said. "They have a number of upperclassmen; we have a ton of freshmen. They got the better of us, but we were two points away from pushing it to a fourth set. So, I think it was a good start for today"
 

POSTGAME REACTION FROM BRIAN SMITH: 

His takeaways from the day:
"The Rollins team is really good. So we go down to Florida and play teams in that conference. And they're actually ranked 11th in their conference. That's how good their conference is. So I was really pleased with the way we played the second match, which was very scrappy. They have a number of upperclassmen; we have a ton of freshmen. They got the better of us, but we were two points away from pushing it to a fourth set. So, I think it was a good start for today. I think we're figuring some things out. And then, you know, we'll have two matches tomorrow and I think we'll continue to get better.
 
On what changed between set one and set two in match one:
"When you have a young team, it's really about confidence.  We started out pretty good and it was back and forth. So they were excited.  In the second set, we started out passing a little worse, we dug ourselves a little bit of a hole, you know, and then I think young teams, they just try to press when they don't know how to press so that's just kind of a learning curve. So we started out pretty good, we were happy with the start, it was a quick start, then they got into a little bit of a slump as far as passing and ball control. And so the more experienced team took advantage of that. But they didn't give up and they came back in the fourth set and almost pushed it to five. So it's character-building.
 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (MATCH ONE)

• Overall, the Wildcats finished the match with 20 blocks while the Marauders collected just six.
• Emma Kerwin led the team in kills with 13 in her debut, while Emma Ludwig was tops on either team with 43 assists.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (MATCH TWO)

• Becca Hartranft recorded all five of her kills in the third set. Those five were good for third on the Marauders. Welter led the team with 10.
• Ludwig was the only player to record an assist for the home team, finishing with 28. 
• Elizabeth Villegas led the team in digs in her first start with 15.

GAME ONE NOTES: 

• This was their 11th all-time meeting in volleyball with the previous 10 split evenly. 

GAME TWO NOTES:

• This was the first-ever matchup between these two teams in volleyball.
• The Tars were voted to finish 11th of 11 teams in the Sunshine State Conference this season. Last season they finished 2-18 in conference but 4-2 in neutral site games.