MILLERSVILLE, PA. - Millersville and East Stroudsburg battled in a hard-fought match in Pucillo Gymnasium Friday night. At the end of the night, it was the visiting Warriors who departed with the 3-1 victory. 
 
The Warriors certainly looked like the team that was chosen to finish first in the PSAC East in the preseason coaches poll during the first set. The visitors raced out to an 8-3 lead before Millersville coach Brian Smith could call a timeout. The timeout didn't change much, however, as they extended their lead to 10 and then 13 by the game's end. 
 
Smith, looking for more athleticism, brought in Alex Nava and Becca Hartranft in the middle of that first set, a decision that would make an impact in set two. 
 
"The score was a little lopsided in set one, and then I made some changes. We put athletes on the court who were quicker, and that seemed to spark the team," Smith said. "Alex was someone we put in and so was Becca." 
 
And spark the team it did. The Marauders entered set two with renewed vigor and kept pace with East Stroudsburg's attack, knotting the score six different times before taking a lead at 15-12 with a four-point run. The Warriors had to battle back against the offensive onslaught of Emma Kerwin, who was responsible for five straight Marauder points during this time. Four of those kills came by way of an Emma Ludwig assist. 
 
With the score level at 23, Nava took over. The freshman recorded the next four points going into overtime via three kills and one service ace. Ludwig shut the door on the Warriors with a kill of her own to take the set, 28-26.
 
Setting out to take the lead in the third set, the marauders started off hot, holding three-point advantages at 7-4 and 9-6 before the Warriors stormed back to tie it at nine. The game went much like the previous one, as neither team was able to take a lead of more than three throughout. Tied at 23, East Stroudsburg managed to put together back-to-back points to claim the set.
 
The Marauders would not go down without a fight.  The two teams were tied at four, eight, 12 and 13 apiece during the fourth set. The Warriors then took a stranglehold on the match by scoring nine unanswered points. Millersville would battle back, but the deficit was just too much to overcome. 
 
Millersville looks to build on this outing on Sept. 30 when they host Kutztown. 
 
COACH BRIAN SMITH'S THOUGHTS

• His overall takeaways from the match: "We knew they were selected to win the East at the beginning of the year-they have a bunch of upperclassmen, and they have a really strong middle attacker. We played really well. Our hitting percentages were above .200 most of the time, theirs just were higher. Alex got in and made an impact. We made some adjustments with the lineup that seemed to work out pretty well for us."
• On what changed from set one to set two: "We put athletes on the court that were quicker and that seemed to spark the team. Alex was one and Becca was one.  The hitting percentages were actually pretty good for most of our hitters in the first set. Kalia struggled a little bit, I think she hit zero, so I think that was an easy decision to put Becca in for her. And then at some point, we have Caroline, who's been asked to play outside and she's a middle. So finally, it was like, well, let's just put another quick outside out there and see how that goes. And that's when we put Alex in and I think that really kind of sparked us a little bit there."

• The loss drops Millersville's all-time record against East Stroudsburg to 25-11. The Warriors have taken three of the last four matchups. 
• With the win, East Stroudsburg increases their winning streak to six games. 
• Millersville falls to 0-2 in PSAC East play this season, while East Stroudsburg improves to 2-0. 

• Emma Kerwin had the best game of her young career. She led both teams with 24 kills, doing so while leading the Marauders in hitting percentage at .383. 24 kills is not only a season-high for her but for the entire team.
• Alex Nava also posted the best game of her career thus far. She finished the game with 16 kills. That number matches her total career kills in the four matches she's played this season. 
• Emma Ludwig continues to put up assists, leading Millersville with 46. 
• The Warriors dominated the front line, finishing the match with six total blocks compared to the Marauders' one.