MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – It was an offensive showdown as Millersville hosted rival West Chester to open Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play in 2024. The first three sets were neck-and-neck, but the Marauders trounced the Golden Rams in the fourth to win the match 3-1. 

The Marauder attack led the day, as they hit .319 as a team and over .200 in all four sets. Millersville was led by hitters Taylor Welter and Emma Kerwin, who tied for the match lead in kills with 19 apiece. The barrage started in the first set. West Chester held a four-point advantage for most of the game, but the hosts came back from a 23-19 deficit and went on a six-nothing run to take the set 25-23. Welter and Kerwin combined for 11 of the teams points with their five and six kills, respectively. 

Set two was another neck and neck battle that ended up going the way of the visitors. Kerwin stayed hot, recording five more putaways with just one error. A better start aided the Marauders' third set victory, as they began on a 4-0 run. They took their biggest lead of the match to that point at 11-5, but the Golden Rams soon came charging back, eventually taking their first lead of the set with the score 16-15. Back-to-back errors on the opposition gave the Marauders the lead right back, but they had to earn it; the second point was claimed because of a great diving effort by Emma Ludwig and Caroline Halsey. That was one of many spectacular sequences the Marauders put together throughout the match. 

Welter reentered the game a couple points later and made an immediate impact; she finished off four of the Marauders' final five points to win the set, 25-23. The momentum was squarely the host's favor by this point and that showed on the scoreboard. Millersville jumped out to a 9-2 lead, forcing a West Chester timeout, but the die was cast. They went on to record 18 kills in the game on a hitting mark of .486 en route to a 25-11 set victory. Madison Von Neida contributed two service aces to that hot start while Sam White's tip kill caused a Golden Ram timeout in the middle of the run. It was a seven-nothing Marauder stretch in the middle of the set that really put the match out of reach, and Ludwig got in on the scoring with a kill of her own in addition to a 3-0 personal Kerwin run. 

POSTGAME REACTION FROM BRIAN SMITH: 

• His overall feelings after the match: "First PSAC match against a traditionally tough team?  I was pretty happy with the results."
• His takeaway from the match: "We need to get better defensively. I thought we gave away some points early in the first set where we just kind of froze and didn't really make a good defensive move. I also think they scored a handful of points in the first set that were very preventable on our end."
• On the adjustments he made: "In sets three and four we switched our defense to kind of a rotational instead of a perimeter. I think that kind of helped us out because they (West Chester), Zoey (Haines) and the other hitters were kind of roll shotting balls over inside our double block and having some success there."

GAME NOTES

• Millersville wins its second consecutive match over the Golden Rams. The Marauders swept them out of Pucillo Gymnasium for their second conference victory last season. Despite that, West Chester still holds the upper hand in the all-time series with a 12-26 record. 
• The Marauders move to 1-0 in conference play and snap a five-match conference losing streak dating back to last year. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Welter and Kerwin paced both teams in kills with 19. Kerwin's total matched a season high while Welter set a new career high. Both players did so efficiently as well; Welter recorded a .457 hitting mark while Kerwin's was .341. Kylee Schurig also played well, contributing 14 kills to the Marauder win. 
• Ludwig was one dig short of her third straight double double. She finished with 46 assists and nine digs on the evening. 

UP NEXT:

• The Marauders return to non-conference play when they take on Goldey-Beacom in Wilmington on Sept. 28 at 2 p.m.