KUTZTOWN, PA (October 1, 2010) – The Kutztown University women's volleyball team unfurled a memorable rally as it defeated Millersville University, 3-2, in a riveting Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) match Friday evening at Keystone Arena. (BOXSCORE)
The Golden Bears dropped the first two games and overcame a 6-0 deficit in the decisive fifth game to raise their overall record to 13-4 and PSAC ledger to 3-4. Millersville fell to 7-10 overall and 1-6 in the PSAC. This game had plenty of late drama and big momentum changes. This was Kutztown's second victory this season in a match decided in five games.
Kutztown had four players finish with double digit kills led by Cali Snell (York, PA/York Suburban)'s 15. Lindsay Confer (Wingate, PA/Bald Eagle) and Erin Kissling (York, PA/Central York) slammed 14 kills each and Cait Hess (Newark, DE/St. Mark's) contributed 10 kills. The sophomore setting tandem of Kimberlee Gomber (Washington, PA/Washington) and Dana Wright (Warminster, PA/Saint Basil Academy) had fun setting up the heavy hitters as they combined for 48 assists. Jamie Celia (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) led the Golden Bears with 41 digs. Kissling finished with 20 digs for KU.
“This was a nice turnaround for us after last week,” Snell said. “We stayed positive throughout the entire game. Even when we were down, we knew we just needed to execute. As the match went on, our defense, passing and setting all got better. Our defense was the difference tonight.”
The Golden Bears took their largest crowd of the season through all types of emotions during the two-hour thrill-a-thon. Fans were issued gold “Paint the Town Gold” rally towels as they entered the gym. However, as Millersville claimed the first two games, 25-23, and 25-22, there was little use to wave them or cheer about. In the ensuing three games, the Golden Bears gave their fans plenty of opportunities to wave them, and make noise by winning 25-20, 25-15, 15-13.
“I thought we really played well in the games we lost, we just made too many little mistakes,” Hess said. “We were able to correct our mistakes and play smarter. We were also able to keep our energy level up and got the job done. When we got down, we continued to pick each other up.”
In an odd moment, but one that perfectly sums up the Golden Bear volleyball team, the players danced in the huddle between the second and third games. With the Temptations classic tune “Aint Too Proud To Beg” blaring over the public address system, the Golden Bears had smiles on their faces and didn't panic. Kutztown is a loose bunch that steadfastly supports each other.
“We're like sisters on this team so nobody gets mad at each other during the match,” Snell said. “We've come back before when we were down so we just remained calm. Everybody was still excited and focused. A win like this gives us a lot of confidence.”
Millersville received sterling efforts from Susan Caramancio, who had 25 digs. Jessica Franz led the Marauders with 16 assists while Allison Hess contributed eight kills.
Kutztown returns to action Saturday evening when it hosts Shippensburg University at Keystone Arena beginning at 7 p.m. This is the first meeting between the two schools since Shippensburg defeated Kutztown, 3-1, in last year's PSAC quarterfinals.
--KU--
