WEST CHESTER, Pa. – After sweeping the weekend over Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponents Kutztown and East Stroudsburg, the Marauders looked to carry that momentum into a clash with the Golden Rams. The visitors did just that, winning their ninth straight set to complete another 3-0 victory.
 
The first extended Marauder advantage came in the first set. Caroline Halsey gave her team a four point advantage with the third 'Ville service ace of the set; Kylee Schurig tallied the first two on back to back points earlier on. A couple points later, and they extended the lead to five at 12-7. That gap was short-lived, as the Golden Rams cut the deficit to one at 14-13, spurring Millersville head coach Brian Smith to call a timeout. That would be as close as the hosts would get for the rest of the set, and the Marauders ended up using a four-nothing spurt at the end of the set to grab the 25-20 lead. Sam White came up clutch, recording kills on two of those four points.
 
West Chester would do a much better job of defending its home court in the second set. So much so, in fact, that they held an 8-3 lead in the early going. That was also the score at which Smith called his first timeout of the set. His team responded quickly, scoring 11 of the next 12 points en route to a five-point advantage of their own. White put home two more kills and Emma Ludwig chipped in two service aces during the run. A 5-0 Golden Ram run in response knotted the match at 14 and the teams battled back and forth until tied once more at 23-all. Millersville went to White once more, and again the sophomore middle responded, smashing home consecutive kills for the set victory.
 
The third set was similar to the first two; the PSAC rivals kept pace with each other through the first 20 points, but the Marauders found a way to put their foot on the Golden Ram's proverbial throat. The set was locked in a 19-19 tie before Millersville went on a 6-0 run to win the set and the match.

POSTGAME REACTION FROM BRIAN SMITH: 

• On getting that first road win: "It feels great to get the first road PSAC win, especially doing so with a sweep of West Chester"
• On the team's evolution/growth: "We have been working on some things, primarily blocking and defense. I absolutely do believe that we are becoming a better team. In addition, we are becoming much more balanced offensively, which has also helped us improve."

GAME NOTES

• The Marauders snag their first road win of the season after beginning the season 0-6 away from the 'Ville. They even their conference record at 4-4 and are now a half game back of East Stroudsburg and Bloomsburg for the third spot in the East division.
• The win gives the Marauders a season sweep of the Golden Rams for the first time since 2019. Millersville has won each of its last three matches against West Chester.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Millersville finished the match with eight service aces, the team's most since tallying nine against Kutztown on Oct. 18. Prior to that, the Marauders hadn't had that many since beating Southern Connecticut State on Sept. 20. Millersville hit double figures in service aces six times in its first nine matches but hasn't done so since.
• Millersville's middles were again dominant in this match, posting arguably their best showing of the season. White came through in the clutch multiple times and finished the match with a season-high nine kills without committing an error. Her career high in kills is 12, set last year against these same Golden Rams. Halsey was just as efficient, recording seven errorless strikes while matching a career-high with five total blocks. It is the most blocks she's had in over two years, as that career high was originally set on Oct. 22, 2022 at Lock Haven.

UP NEXT:

• The Marauders host Chestnut Hill on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.