MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – It took overtime in the fifth set to decide, but the Millersville Marauders downed the visiting Lock Haven Bald Eagles Saturday afternoon by a score of 3-2. A raucous crowd filled Pucillo Gymnasium to cheer on the victors, who remained in the thick of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoff hunt with the win.

After starting last night's match on their heels, the Marauders were the aggressors early in this one. The hosts held a three-point lead for most of the set but extended that advantage in the middle game. Caroline Halsey had an emphatic kill on a Bald Eagle overpass at 15-10 that led to a 16-10 lead and a Lock Haven timeout.  The visitors didn't go down without a fight, responding with a 5-1 run that brought the margin back to three at 18-15. The Marauders survived a four-point Lock Haven spurt at the game's end and Emma Kerwin tallied two kills on their last three points; The latter kill was a well-placed ball just inside the near sideline to win the set. That early aggression was by design according to Millersville head coach Brian Smith.
 
"The message to the team before the match was, 'we just have to play to win–we can't be afraid to make mistakes'," Smith said postgame. "I tried to set tone by reminding of all the good things they did last night, especially offensively. I told them that we just need to keep plugging away."
 
The Marauders would heed these words heading into the third set after felling 25-11 in the second. They kept 'plugging away', keeping pace with the opposition until taking the lead for good with a four-point run to make the score 14-10. Kylee Schurig led the way, tallying seven kills in the set including a couple of pretty finishes. The first of those was a cross court dime that graced the sideline at 4-3 and the second came a couple points later, a strike off the opposing blocker's outstretched arms to level the score at nine. The end of the set was all Millersville and Schurig led the way once more, fueling the team's closing seven-point burst with four kills of her own. She finished the set off with back to back putaways, the second of which got caught in the next and rolled off into Lock Haven's side for the 25-17 win.
 
After nabbing an early lead in the fourth set, the Marauders fell behind their opponents for its duration. They chased a two to four point deficit in the latter half of the set and eventually lost it 25-20 to set up a decisive fifth game.
 
Millersville claimed its first point of the final set in a lengthy rally that featured diving digs from Emma Ludwig and Elizabeth Villegas, the latter of which came on in relief in the set prior. However, three straight errors put the team in a 4-1 hole. A massive block by Ludwig gave the hosts their third point but they would falter after the teams switched sides; the Bald Eagles went on a 5-1 run that spurred Smith's second timeout of the set.
 
His team responded by scoring five straight points and knotting the match back up at 13. The run started with a kill from Taylor Welter and Schurig followed that with an ace. Ludwig tallied another kill causing a Lock Haven timeout. That stoppage did nothing to slow the Marauders' momentum, as Welter would tally another kill and the team's defense and passing would win them that 13^th point. A couple points later and the 'Ville found themselves down 15-14 when Kerwin tied the set back up with a timely putaway. Ludwig came up clutch on the final point, swatting the ball into the hardwood just feet in front of the net for the 17-14 win.  
 
"I thought we did well," Smith said of his team's final set comeback. "If you look at the Lock Haven and the matches that they've had, they come back and win or at least make it close in most of their matches; I knew there was no quit in Lock Haven." 

GAME NOTES

• Elsewhere in the PSAC, Bloomsburg and East Stroudsburg both lost to create a tie for third place in the division at five wins apiece. The Marauders currently hold the tiebreaker over the Warriors while the Huskies hold the tiebreaker over them. Millersville visits East Stroudsburg next weekend for a crucial match in the playoff race.
• Elsewhere in the conference, East Stroudsburg fell 3-2 at Shepherd, putting them just one match ahead of Millersville in the standings at 5-4. The Marauders could secure the tiebreaker over the Warriors with a win on Nov. 9.

STATISTICAL INSIGHTS

• The hosts returned to the balanced attack that proved effective in previous PSAC matches. Four players recorded nine or more kills and six had at least five.
• Schurig had one of her best matches of the season despite suffering a wasp sting during the second set. She finished with a team-high 14 kills while recording two aces and three total blocks.

UP NEXT:

• The Marauders make a stop at Kutztown to take on the winless Golden Bears on Nov. 8 at 7 p.m.