WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The Millersville University women's volleyball team dropped their first PSAC conference game to the Golden Rams from West Chester University in three sets. Set scores were 25-22, 25-11, and 25-17. 

Millersville (4-9, 0-1 PSAC) struggled to keep pace with West Chester (9-1, 1-0 PSAC), finishing with a .128 hitting percentage compared to the Golden Rams' .300. The Marauders tallied 23 kills, four service aces, six blocks, and 28 digs in the match. Amanda Protzman held the defense at the net, leading the team with five blocks.

Millersville found themselves on the defensive early in the first set, quickly falling behind by four points. A well-timed play by Taylor Welter halted the Golden Rams' run and brought the Marauders back within two. However, West Chester responded with a dominant stretch, scoring seven unanswered points to extend their lead. The momentum briefly shifted when Addy Van Oosten delivered back-to-back kills, trimming the deficit to seven, but the comeback effort fell short. The Marauders were unable to close the gap and ultimately dropped the opening set.

The Marauders came out stronger in the second set, sparked by back-to-back blocks from Protzman and Welter. With the score tied at five, West Chester seized control with an 11-1 scoring run, fueled by a combination of well-placed kills and Millersville errors. Van Oosten finally broke the streak, but the Golden Rams maintained their momentum and closed out the set to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set remained tightly contested through an 11-11 tie before the Golden Rams pulled ahead with a three-point burst. Sam White halted the run, followed by key kills from Protzman and Welter to keep Millersville within striking distance. Despite the effort, the Marauders couldn't close the gap and ultimately dropped the set, falling in their first conference match of the season.

"We had a big psychological blow when Kylee Schurig dislocated her shoulder again yesterday. We really miss her ball control and steady calmness on the court," said Brian Smith, "It's not the start we were looking for in our first conference match but hopefully we can learn something about ourselves and our teammates to help change the direction quickly. I've had super young and inexperienced teams in the past, and we'll have some low and some highs, the key is how they respond to those."

The Marauders' next match is Friday, Oct. 3 when they travel for another in-conference match-up between East Stroudsburg.