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Millersville

Becca Hartranft, Madison Von Neida and Emma Ludwig

Women's volleyball opens conference play against rival West Chester

9/24/2024 1:00:00 PM

By: Wes Champlin, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
  • Series: 11-26
  • Series Streak: Millersville, 1
  • First Meeting: L, 0–3 (1990)
  • Last Meeting: W, 3–0 (2023)

ABOUT THE MATCH

  • The Millersville women's volleyball team (7-5, 0-0) opens Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play by hosting bitter rival West Chester (5-5, 0-0) at Penn Manor High School. In 2023, the Marauders finished in eighth place with record of 3-11 in conference play while the Golden Rams had a mark of 5-9 to go with a fifth place finish. It will be the first PSAC contest of the season for both teams. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

  • The Marauders sought to improve in 2024 and that they have, starting the season 7-2 before running into a rough patch during the Rollins Invitational in Florida. Millersville had a 4-6 record entering conference play last season, and its 2024 schedule has been much more difficult to this point.
  • An area that has shown a marked improvement is on the outside. Spearheading that effort is junior Taylor Welter, who ranks seventh in the PSAC in total kills with 134 and has done so with the best hitting percentage (.220) of the Marauders' main trio of hitters. She reached double-digits in putaways in nine of the first 10 matches and recorded a hitting percentage of below .200 just once in that span.
  • Rounding out that trio of regulars on the outside are sophomore Emma Kerwin and freshman Kylee Schurig. Kerwin led the team in kills last season and currently ranks third with 120. She's also shown growth in both her receiving and serving skills, as she is tied for the team lead in service aces with 24, a mark that ranks third in the conference. Schurig has been a revelation thus far in her freshman season. She kicked off her collegiate career by recording double-digit kills in eight of her first nine matches, including a 25-kill effort against Jefferson on Sept. 11. That was the most kills by a Marauder in a single match since at least 2012.
  • Despite the team's recent struggles, the ever-steady Emma Ludwig enters with a three-game double-double streak. The senior captain has excelled in her position as the team's setter and enters Wednesday's bout tied for second in the conference with 449 assists on the season. She made history on Sept. 7 against Roberts Wesleyan, becoming just the fourth player in program history to reach 3000 assists. Ludwig could realistically take over the top spot in that category at some point in 2024, as she's 248 away from the high mark of 3580 set by Missy Rauhauser.
  • Another area where the Marauders have improved is up front, thanks to the efforts of middles Caroline Halsey and Sam White. Halsey has already totaled 33.0 blocks, 10 off her season total from 2023. The junior also ranks fourth on the team in kills with 56, doing so with a .235 hitting mark that is more than double what she put up last season (.110). White has been even more efficient on her 46 finishes, recording a team-best mark of .306.
  • Senior captains Madison Von Neida and Mya Cascario have been Millersville's primary defenders this year. Von Neida leads the team with 206 digs and has played every game as Millersville's libero. Her recent performance at the Rollins Invitational led to her being selected to the all-tournament team. Cascario has been lethal on the service so far this season, as she's tied for the team lead in aces with 24, a mark that joins her with Kerwin in second place in the PSAC. 

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN RAMS

  • Owners of a three-game winning streak, West Chester began its season with a 2-5 record before dominating on its recent tour of New Jersey. The Golden Rams swept Caldwell and Felician on Sept. 21 & 22, respectively, and finished the trip with a 3-1 win over St. Thomas Aquinas on Sept. 22.
  • The team's attack is led by freshman Anna Richardson and junior Zoe Haines, who rank first and second on the team in kills with 92 and 82 kills, respectively. Of the two, Haines has been much more efficient thus far, recording a hitting percentage double that of Richardson (.257 vs. .119). Third on the team in kills is 6-foot-1-inch middle blocker CeCe Isenberg, with 71.
  • That height is something that the Marauders will have to contend with all match long. West Chester features seven players on its roster that measure six-foot or taller and five of its top eight players in sets played fit that criteria as well. Chief among those is six-foot junior middle blocker Nicole Dimiris, who leads the team in total blocks with 35.0. That mark is good for twelfth in the PSAC.
  • The Golden Rams struggled to begin 2024, going 1-3 in the PSAC East Kickoff Tournament that featured a couple of the same teams Millersville handled with relative ease in the Marauder Clash. West Chester was swept by Charleston (W.Va.) on Sept. 6 and lost 3-1 to Wilmington (Del.) the next day. The Marauders opened their year with a 3-1 victory over Wilmington on Sept. 6 and swept Charleston in convincing fashion the next day. Possibly the most telling loss on the Rams' schedule is a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Dominican (N.Y.) on Sept. 13. In contrast, Millersville defeated them easily (3-0, 3-1) on both ends of their doubleheader on Sept. 14.  It was such a drubbing that head coach Brian Smith was able to rest some of his regulars in the second match.

THE LAST TIME OUT

  • Millersville: Millersville 0, #18 Lynn (Sept. 21, 2024) - Millersville is coming off of a 3-0 sweep at the hands of #18 Lynn in the Rollins College Invitational. The Marauders battled against their ranked foe, but the Fighting Knights held the upper hand throughout the match.
  • West Chester:  West Chester 3, St. Thomas Aquinas 1 (Sept. 22, 2024) - The Golden Rams won their third match in a row when they beat St. Thomas Aquinas 3-1 on Sept. 22. It was a close match with the exception of one set, as the other three games were all decided by two points. 

SERIES HISTORY

  • Millersville took down West Chester in one of its most impressive wins of 2023 the last time these two teams met. The Marauders swept the opposition out of Pucillo Gymnasium in front of a raucous crowd to avenge a 3-2 loss at the hands of the Rams in West Chester about a month prior. 
  • The Golden Rams have held a significant advantage in the rest of the all-time series, as the hosts bring an 11-26 mark into the upcoming match. The Marauders had dropped five straight before winning the last contest between the two teams, and that victory was their first since 2019. 
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