KUTZTOWN, PA. (September 12, 2009) – Fueled by a breathtaking 24 blocks, the Kutztown University volleyball team won its third consecutive match by defeating Mercy College, 3-0, Saturday morning in the Kutztown Challenge at Keystone Arena. With seven players recording at least one block, the Golden Bears turned aside the Mavericks, 25-11, 25-17, 25-23.

Freshman Brianna Risch (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) (Coatesville/Coatesville) led the KU block party with six while Katie Lutz (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle Antrim) (Greencastle/Greencastle/Antrim) and sophomore Cali Snell (York, PA/York Suburban) (York/York Suburban) contributed five each to help the Golden Bears raise their early season record to 5-1 overall.

Combining with the blocks was a 30-kill effort that was too much for Mercy to overcome.

Freshmen sparkplugs, Dana Wright (Warminster, PA/Saint Basil Academy) (Warminster/Saint Basil Academy) and Kimberlee Gomber (Washington, PA/Washington) (Washington/Washington) ran the offense with poise, precision and patience in combining for 23 assists.

“It's really a group effort,” Lutz said. “If our outside blockers aren't talking then (the blocks don't happen). We really connect with each other. The blocks are pretty exciting and when you see somebody like (sophomore) Lindsey Smith (Hanover, PA/Delone Catholic) (Hanover/Delone Catholic) jumping high with her knees in her chin, it gets me pumped.”

Lutz has been a force throughout the season for the Golden Bears. She is another important cog in the Golden Bear machine. More importantly, the six-foot Lutz has made a living of short-circuiting rallies with her long arms and fast fingers. On a couple of occasions against Mercy, the Mavericks appeared to have a point only to see the ball stuffed back on their side of the net by Lutz, junior Kelsey Nester (Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua) (Catasauqua/Catasauqua), sophomore Erin Kissling (York, PA/Central York) (York/Central York) or Risch.

Nester had a team-high eight kills. Lutz added seven kills. Kissling had two blocks and two kills. Risch had six blocks. Behind that quartet, the Golden Bears were dominant at the net. Kissling had 11 kills in KU's match against Felician the night before. Kissling believes she has the easiest job in the world.

“When you play alongside them, all I have to do is jump,” Kissling said. “We spend a lot of time in practice working on blocking and jumping. I am probably the worse at it. I have a hard time, but I've been working and I feel like I've been getting better. Playing on this team is so much fun because everybody contributes in some type of way.”

Through its first six matches, Kutztown has developed a steely resolve which should help once it gets into Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play. In its last three matches, KU has fallen behind by five points at some point. Each time, the Golden Bears have responded like champions by taking control of the match. Kutztown trailed, 7-2 and 13-10 in the second game before finding its groove.

Junior Jamie Celia (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) (Douglassville/Daniel Boone) had three straight service aces during an 8-0 burst that helped KU turn a 13-10 deficit into an 18-10 advantage. The Golden Bears closed out the second game. The third game appeared to be a runaway as KU zipped to a 9-1 lead but Mercy, which played better in each successive game, unleashed a furious rally to pull to within one on two occasions. Each time, the Golden Bears got a big kill or block to get the momentum back on their side.

“Getting a block or a kill is a good feeling especially when you look over to the sideline after the point and see coach (John Gump) smiling,” Lutz said. “We know the PSAC is going to be harder. When we fall behind, I think we do a good job as a team picking each other up and that's important.”