SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – The Millersville Marauders headed to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's (PSAC) only team south of the Mason-Dixon line looking to upset the conference-leading Shepherd Rams. The visitors kept it close in the first set and dropped the following two to finish on the wrong side of a 3-0 sweep.
The Rams brought a perfect 4-0 conference record into play and played up to that billing. The Marauder's hitters were stymied at the net all afternoon long, evidenced by the host's 11.0 total blocks;
Emma Kerwin and
Taylor Welter led the Marauder offense with six kills apiece.
Caroline Halsey and
Emma Ludwig shone brightest for Millersville. Halsey's four kills found paydirt without the accompaniment of an error and she chipped in an ace and three block assists as well.
In the midst of her chase for the program record for assists, Ludwig totaled 19 dimes without a setting error. The senior captain also had two block assists and nine digs on the afternoon. Ludwig figures to break the Marauders' all-time career assists mark during the team's next match against Kutztown. She now only needs 17 to take the top spot, which is currently held by Missy Rauhauser, who totaled 3,580 assists in her career.
POSTGAME REACTION FROM BRIAN SMITH:
- Overall thoughts: "We played a team in Shepherd that bested us in pretty much every category today–much of it was due to having better talent. We have to really have an exceptional performance to keep pace with them. I felt we started well but couldn't sustain it."
- On the team's recent 'slump': "I wouldn't categorize what is going on as a slump. A slump assumes a level of play that we have been falling short of. When I look at the conference numbers they say a few things. Outside of today's poor hitting performance we can put up points and hit well enough to win–but defensively we are not getting the job done. Our passing is inconsistent and we have struggled in serving since the West Chester win."
GAME NOTES
- The Rams maintain their place at the top of the PSAC Eastern Division standings with a pristine 5-0 mark while the Marauders fall to 1-4. That puts them in a sixth-place tie with West Chester.
- After a 7-2 start, the Marauders have hit a rough patch; they've dropped eight of their last nine and each of their last eight on the road.
UP NEXT:
- The Marauders return to Millersville for the second time in over a month when they take on Kutztown on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m.
