Marauders stumble against Lightning

Saturday, September 28

Wilmington, DE

1:00 PM

Millersville University

8-6

Goldey-Beacom

7-7

Millersville

Goldey-Beacom

Marauders stumble against Lightning

9/28/2024 4:25:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Wes Champlin, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

WILMINGTON, Del. – Despite dropping the first two sets, Millersville women's volleyball showed grit in its match against Goldey-Beacom. The Marauders came back from a six-point deficit to take the third game and almost did so once more in set four before falling 3-1. Junior Caroline Halsey had one of the best matches of her time at the 'Ville, recording a career-high 15 kills without a single error.

Millersville trailed the hosts for most of the first two sets although the first set held quite a few lead changes. The most consequential came with the Marauders up 25-24 with a chance to take the first set. Goldey-Beacom responded with a 3-0 run to claim the 27-25 victory. The hosts also won the second set, putting the Marauders in a 2-0 hole to begin game three.

An 11-5 deficit was what awaited the visitors in that game, a point at which head coach Brian Smith called a timeout to try and right the ship. His team responded immediately, embarking on a 7-0 run fueled by Lightning hitting errors to take the lead. They would extend that lead to four a few points later and won the set 25-20. Another disadvantage on the scoreboard, this time a 7-1 mark, awaited them in the fourth game. Smith called timeout and his team responded once more with a 7-1 run fueled by three kills from Taylor Welter. The end of the set would differ in outcome from the third, as Goldey-Beacom won it and the match 25-20.

POSTGAME REACTION FROM BRIAN SMITH:

What he attributed the outcome to: "We lost because of poor execution and players only focusing on the skills they deem of higher value. We also passed poorly and had too many hitting errors."

GAME NOTES

The Marauders suffer their first loss in program history against the Lightning; they had been 9-0 in the series dating back to 2008. It is also the first time since 2009 that these two teams have played on Goldey-Beacom's home court.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

In addition to her 15 kills, Halsey also tallied a service ace and two block assists for a career-best 17 total points. It is the second time in her time at Millersville that she's reached double figures; the other was her previous high-water mark of 11 set on Sept. 1, 2023, against Wilmington.
The Marauders ended up out-hitting the Lightning and finished with one less block than the hosts (6.0 to 7.0). The only category with a major difference was each team's service errors; Goldey-Beacom had three such mistakes while Millersville had a season-high 15.