MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – It was a tale of two matches when Millersville hosted Georgian Court Monday evening. The Marauders dominated through the first set and a half, winning the first and building a double-digit lead in the second. The tide turned with a visitor timeout, as they made significant inroads into that deficit and used that momentum to take the final three sets.

It was neck and neck to begin, but the Maruaders eventually took hold on a couple point lead midway through the set. They held that throughout despite the best efforts of the opposition, who clawed to within one late in the set. Caroline Halsey and Emma Ludwig finished it off with a combination block. The power of their hitters also shone through early on. Emma Kerwin and Taylor Welter were especially effective, finishing the game with a match-high eight and five kills, respectively. Kerwin would finish the match with a team-best 17 putaways. 

Kerwin's powerful swing was also the difference in the second set, but in a different manner; her serves caused trouble for the Lions and were the backbone of a six-nothing Millersville run to take an 18-8 lead. She recorded two service aces in that stretch and put the visitors on their heels. That run was part of a larger stretch in which Millersville outscored the opposition 16-4. Those points were mostly self-inflicted for Georgian Court, as the Marauders tallied just six kills in that stretch. The Lions called a timeout down 18-8 and that served as the turning point. They would pull to within one, spurred on by a 13-4 run to make the score 22-21. 

Two Kerwin kills and a Caroline Halsey ace won the set for the hosts, but the momentum was squarely in the Lion's favor. Georgian Court went on to take the next two sets with relative ease, but the Marauders bounced back in the fifth. They held leads at 11-8 and 12-9 but the Lions came back once more and won the match. 

POSTGAME REACTION FROM BRIAN SMITH: 

• His takeaway from the match: "The takeaway for me is that this is our third match that went five sets; we've won two, and that one could have gone either way.  So, it's good to learn those lessons early." 

GAME NOTES

• Millersville suffers its first loss against Georgian Court in program history; to this point, Millersville had been 3-0.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Millersville holds the top three spots in the services aces leaderboard for the PSAC; Mya Cascario, Kerwin and Kylee Schurig are all tied for first with 25 apiece.

UP NEXT:

• The Marauders head to Florida to take part in the Rollins College Invitational. They begin the trip by taking on Southern Connecticut State on Sept. 20 at 2 pm.